Radio heckler blamed for issuing 'Iranian' threat to US Navy

Published on Monday 14 January 2008 21:35

A RADIO prankster may have broadcast the threat against American ships that brought the United States and Iran close to confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz last week.

The weekly American newspaper the Navy Times quoted US officers in the Gulf as saying the message may have been broadcast by "Filipino Monkey", a notorious radio heckler in the region.

The male voice, in accented English, said: "I am coming to you … You will explode after … minutes."

According to a soundtrack and video released by the Pentagon, the threat was made as five Iranian speedboats manoeuvred around three US warships on 6 January as they passed through the strait, a vital route for world oil shipments. Tehran said the encounter was normal and its boats were merely trying to identify the US vessels.

"Filipino Monkey" is famous in the Gulf for listening to ship-to-ship radio traffic and then jumping in with insults and epithets, said the Navy Times. US officials initially said they believed the threat came from an Iranian boat, but have since said they are not certain of its origin.

The incident, in which the navy said one ship came close to firing on an Iranian boat, drew public condemnation from George Bush, the president, and a formal US protest, further straining ties between the two countries.

Washington and Tehran are at odds over a range of issues from Tehran's nuclear programme to its support for Shiite militia in Iraq and for militant groups elsewhere in the Middle East.