A US military official says the Navy had a close encounter with an Iranian surveillance jet last week in the Gulf of Oman.

The official says the jet buzzed a Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Eisenhower, coming within about 1,000 yards of the ship. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the April 21 incident occurred in international waters.

The aircraft was an “Iranian Navy Fokker F27 turboprop reconnaissance plane. And it actually flew around the United States naval ship for approximately 20 minutes before it became really low at the American naval ship. The incident occurred on April 21, 2010 and has been kept on the down low from the American public. The United States is saying that this incident with the Fokker F24 is quite common and is not cuase for concern.

The official says “there was nothing threatening about the aircraft itself or how it presented itself.”

The official could not confirm reports by NBC and CBS that the jet made three passes over the Navy ship.





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