A US military ship fired warning shots after three Iranian navy vessels came close to it and another American patrol boat in the Gulf, the United States military said on Tuesday.
Such incidents have occurred occasionally over the past five years, although there has been a relative lull over the past year.
While officials said it was too early to discern the exact motive of the Iranian forces, in the past such incidents were carried out by local commanders rather than directed by senior Iranian leaders.
"The US crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and loud-hailer devices, but the IRGCN [Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy] vessels continued their close-range manoeuvres," the military said.
"The crew of Firebolt then fired warning shots, and the IRGCN vessels moved away to a safe distance from the US vessels," it said.
The closest the Iranian fast inshore attack craft came to the American ships was 62 metres during the incident, which occurred on Monday in international waters in the northern Gulf.
The incident came as world powers and Iran seek to speed up efforts to bring Washington and Tehran back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear accord, and the US has reassured its Gulf Arab allies on the status of the talks.
Earlier on Tuesday, the head of US forces in the Middle East said the country's military was careful not to let incidents with the IRGCN turn into a cycle of provocation, although he did not mention Monday's face-off.
"The activities we typically see from the IRGC Navy are not necessarily activities that are directed by the supreme leader or from the Iranian state, rather irresponsible actions by local commanders on the scene," said Gen Kenneth McKenzie, head of US Central Command.
A US official said the area of the Gulf where the incident occurred had a history of IRGCN vessels harassing fishing boats and was not overly concerning.
"The US is not an aggressor … our forces are trained, however, to conduct effective defensive measures when necessary," the US military said.
Greatest Royal Rumble match listing
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
The%20specs
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Brief scoreline:
Crystal Palace 2
Milivojevic 76' (pen), Van Aanholt 88'
Huddersfield Town 0
Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House
RESULTS
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200
Winner: Miqyaas, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Rashed Bouresly (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Untold Secret, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.40pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Shanty Star, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Alkaamel, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
8.50pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Speedy Move, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Quartier Francois, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
Virtuzone GCC Sixes
Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Time Matches start at 9am
Groups
A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; C Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
The%20Roundup
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