US Fifth Fleet helped distressed Iranian fishing dhow

The US Navy has announced that it assisted an Iranian fishing vessel in distress in the Gulf, the fourth such incident this year in an area marked by tension between Washington and Tehran.The Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet said in a statement late Tuesday that forces from the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group responded to a distressed Iranian fishing dhow that had nine crew members on board.The US Navy team was allowed to board the vessel and repair the engine, the statement said.January 18, the US Navy assisted the crew of an Iranian fishing vessel in distress in the Gulf of Oman. On January 11, the US Navy rescued six Iranian merchant marines from a sinking cargo ship. And on January 7, a Navy destroyer rescued 13 Iranian fishermen being held hostage by Somali pirates.The rescues come at a delicate time in the Wests long-running showdown with Iran over its nuclear programme, with Washington and its allies ramping up sanctions on Tehran.Iran has reacted by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, and remains opposed to the US military presence in the region.