Pentagon: Iran Threatened U.S. Ships

Reuters - Iranians threatened U.S. ships in Hormuz: Pentagon

Five Iranian boats made aggressive maneuvers and showed hostile intent towards three U.S. Navy ships at the weekend in the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route in the Gulf, the Pentagon said on Monday.

The Pentagon said the incident was serious. It described the Iranian actions as "careless, reckless and potentially hostile" and said Tehran should provide an explanation.

In Tehran, the Iranian foreign ministry described the incident as ordinary.

"The example that happened on Saturday was similar to previous cases and is an ordinary and natural issue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told Iran's official IRNA news agency.

"This is an ordinary issue that happens for the two sides every once in a while and, after the identification of the two sides, the issue is resolved."