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U.S. military sources say the Iran Ajr (pronounced Ah-zur; it means "heavenly reward") and its suspicious cargo were first spotted early in September by jointly operated U.S.-Saudi Arabian AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft, as well as carrier-based Navy P-3 surveillance planes. The 157-ft. roll-on, roll-off landing craft and two similar vessels, all much larger than the dinky dhows and other boats capable of dropping only a single mine or two, were placed under continuous electronic watch. When the Iran Ajr slipped out of the port of Bandar Abbas, many American eyes were watching.
Aboard the U.S.S. Jarrett, a guided-missile frigate cruising some 30 miles off Bahrain, pilots from Task Force 160 based in Fort Campbell, Ky., stood by with their OH-6A Cayuse helicopters. Built by Hughes Aircraft, the two-man OH- 6As are touted as the quietest choppers in the world. Beyond their silent- strike capability, they carry another little-known advantage: jutting just to the left of the nose of each of the helicopters is a boxy snooping device. Inside are infrared sensors capable of reading whatever might be unfolding ahead of the aircraft, even on a dark night.
Also patrolling nearby was the U.S.S. Guadalcanal, carrying a contingent of Navy SEALs, trained for varied covert operations and ready to move away from the mother vessel in a small boat. Both the Jarrett and the Guadalcanal were directed by Bernsen on the La Salle. Officers on all three vessels waited expectantly to see what the Iranian ship would do.
Radar screens in the information command center on the Jarrett tracked the Iran Ajr moving toward a site some 50 miles northeast of Bahrain, where tankers of many nations often anchor while awaiting berths at docks in Kuwait. A number of channels converge at this gulf crossroads; U.S. warships rendezvous here to pick up their escort missions. Two of the Army choppers lifted quietly off the Jarrett to get a closer look at the gray Iranian vessel.
Flying some 200 ft. above the sea and without lights, the two helicopters closed to within about 500 yds. of the Iranian ship. From that distance, and apparently hovering too quietly to be heard by the crew they were watching, the Army specialists peered at their monitors. The Iran Ajr had virtually stopped in the water. The shadowy figures of the sailors were doing precisely what the U.S. observers had been expecting. At midnight (gulf time) the pilot of the lead chopper reported to his command ship that the Iranians were "dropping objects overboard which appear to be mines."
On the La Salle, Bernsen heard the reports from the airborne spotters that the Iranians were pushing mines off a 10-ft. gangplank-like platform. At 12:03 a.m. he gave the Army pilot a curt order: "Execute."
Without giving their victims a warning, the two helicopters cut loose with a barrage of 7.62-mm rapid-fire machine-gun rounds and 2.75-in. rockets. A gas container toward the vessel's bow exploded, starting a fire. Another blaze erupted in the engine room. When the Army flyers stopped the attack and moved in to inspect the results, they were astonished to see figures on the ship still rushing about -- and pushing more mines overboard. Apparently, in the Pentagon's later analysis, the Iranians were trying to get rid of the evidence.