Iran on Monday downplayed the significant of an incident which involved three U.S. Navy ships and Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said the act taken during the weakend in connection with the American navy ship "is something normal."
According to IRNA, Hosseini said, "That's something normal taking place every now and then for each party and it (the problem) is settled after identification of the two parties." He recalled that similar incidents had happened in the past too and finalized as the two parts identified each other.
The Iranian official said: "The case happening on Saturday was similar to the past ones and it was a regular and natural issue."
Earlier in the day, the Western media quoted Pentagon officials as claiming that several Iranian speedboats had neared several US navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The US officials also claimed that during the incident warnings had been exchanged between the two sides.
On its part, 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.
