USS THUNDERBOLT ON PATROL: The photo dates from 2015. On July 25 the Thunderbolt (PC-12) fired on Iranian speedboats manned by members of the Revolutionary Guard. The incident occurred at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, east of Kuwait. The Thunderbolt is a Cyclone-class patrol craft.

RELATED: The latest incident appears to be about 50 kilometers south of Iraq’s offshore oil ports. However, Iranian vessels have played similar “probe and disrupt” games in that area as well as in the Strait of Hormuz. This column dates from 2005. The column doesn’t mention it, but a USN Cyclone-class patrol craft was part of the surface force screening the Iraqi oil ports.