article_snippet.sent: Steve Warren noted that the nine ships in the Iranian convoy were cargo ships, but Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren declined to specify what the nine ships in the Iranian convoy were cargo ships were carrying beyond "containers.
article_snippet.sent: But it would be an extraordinary step and certainly not a foregone conclusion that the United States would attempt to board an Iranian ship if the United States entered Yemeni waters, the United States officials said.
article_snippet.sent: They are not there to intercept Iranian ships," State Department Spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters Tuesday.
article_snippet.sent: Warren too added that Warren was unaware of any direct contact between the American and Iranian vessels at this point.
article_snippet.sent: When asked about warnings from Saudi Arabia and the U.S. to keep Iranian navy ships away from Yemen, the commander of Iran's Regular Navy, Flotilla Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, said the Fifth Fleet was operating legally.
article_snippet.sent: U.S. ships do not have authority to forcibly board Iranian-flagged ships.
highlights_snippet.sent: Iranian admiral says Iranian admiral country's ships operating legally .