AN Iranian fast attack boat goaded the U.S.S. Typhoon into firing a flare to drive them off when the Iranian boat came within 200 yards of the Typhoon:

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy says one of its ships encountered a small Iranian high-speed boat in the central Persian Gulf. The Navy says the boat stayed away after the ship fired a flare.

Two other similar Iranian boats in the area did not approach as closely.

The USS Typhoon tried unsuccessfully to establish radio contact with the Iranian boat after it came within an estimated 200 yards of the Typhoon on Thursday, outside Iranian territorial waters. A Navy official says the ship then fired the flare and continued on its way northward without incident.

The official said Friday that the Iranian boats did not appear to have been armed.

It doesn’t matter that the small boat didn’t appear to carry armaments, 200 yards is close enough for the crew to have swept the deck with small arms fire. 200 yards is just on the outside range of effectiveness for an Ak-47, and certainly well inside the range of .308 rifles or the 30-06, the caliber America should never have abandoned.

A WWII vintage B.A.R. or a grenade launcher could have been pulled out by the Iranians caused untold damage to the Typhoon and her crew. That’s not to mention the very real possibility of the boat, packed with explosives, making a suicide run. The Iranians know that the Captain of the ship would be thinking all these things.

Iranian ships seem intent on provoking the Navy into firing on them, the question is why?