Iran accused a U.S. destroyer and a reconnaissance plane Tuesday of spying on Iranian military maneuvers in the Persian Gulf and warned them to leave the area. The Navy denied the charge, saying the ship hadn’t even left port. The USS Kinkaid and an S-3 reconnaissance plane withdrew Tuesday from the vicinity of the Iranian war games after the warnings, senior Iranian naval officers said, speaking on condition anonymity. But a spokesman for the Navy’s 5th Fleet said he had “no indication that either incident occurred. The Kinkaid has been in port in Bahrain since Monday afternoon,” said Cmdr. Gordon Hume. The Kinkaid is a member of the seven-ship battle group that arrived in the Persian Gulf Sunday. The S-3 is one of 75 aircraft operating from the carrier Nimitz.
