Iran denies threatening US warships by rocket shooting

Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 31

By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:

Iran denies shooting any rocket close to US warships in Persian Gulf.

Head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Public Relations Office Brigadier General Ramazan Sharif said that during last weeks Iran hasn't any military drill in Persian Gulf to launch any rocket, IRGC's official website reported on Dec.31.

Before, a US aircraft carrier came within about 1,500 yards of an Iranian rocket while operating in the Strait of Hormuz, a Pentagon official told CNN on December 30.

While transiting the strait that sits at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the USS Harry S. Truman had the encounter while the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were conducting a live-fire exercise in the area on Saturday, according to Cmdr. Kyle Raines, a US Central Command spokesman.

The USS Harry S. Truman was accompanied by two other coalition ships, one American, and one from another country in the coalition, who were escorting the Truman through the Strait.

Raines said this incident was "uncharacteristic of most interactions" between the US and Iranian navies.

However, Gen. Sharif said that the rumors about testing rocket close to the US warships are psychological warfare.