A soldier patrols on USS Gerald R. Ford before its commissioning ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, the United States, on July 22, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)
WASHINGTON, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. Navy ship fired warning shots at an Iranian patrol boat on Tuesday in the northern end of the Persian Gulf, U.S. media reported Tuesday.
The Iranian boat is believed to have been operated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, CNN quoted a defense official familiar with details of the incident as saying.
The Iranian boat, which approached and came within 150 yards (about 137 meters) of the U.S. ship, did not respond to any warnings from the U.S. ship, including radio calls, firing of flares and five short blasts from the U.S. Navy ship's whistle, the report said.
The U.S. Navy ship then fired warning shots into the water over concerns about the possibility of a collision, a U.S. defense official said, adding that the Iranian ship then stopped approaching the U.S. ship but lingered in the area for some hours.
Similar incidents between the United States and Iran occurred in the past. In January this year, a U.S. navy ship fired warning shots at five Iranian ships when the vessel and two other U.S. ships were entering the Strait of Hormuz.
In March, the U.S. media reported that a U.S. navy surveillance ship was "harassed" by Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a claim that had been rejected by Iran as the White House's media hype against Tehran.