"Revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini learned quickly, however, that it was one thing to target Kuwaiti or Saudi ships, and quite another to attack American vessels. Four days after the guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts struck an Iranian mine in international waters on April 14, 1988, President Ronald Reagan launched Operation Praying Mantis. After warning the crews of two Iranian oil platforms to evacuate, Reagan ordered the Navy to attack them. The Iranian Navy scrambled and confronted U.S. forces head on. For Tehran, it was a fateful mistake. By the end of the day, Iran had lost a frigate, a gunboat, and three speedboats, on top of the two oil platforms,
in what had become the largest U.S. surface engagement since World War II."
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