Iran denies firing rockets at U.S. warship, accuses West of ‘psychological warfare’

Iranian officials on Thursday denied its Revolutionary Guards launched rockets near the U.S. aircraft-carrier Harry S. Truman and other warships as they entered the Gulf on Saturday, calling the accusation “psychological warfare.”

“The naval forces of the Guards have not had any exercises in the Strait of Hormuz during the past week and the period claimed by the Americans, for them to have launched missiles and rockets,” Ramezan Sharif, a spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement posted to the Guards’ website, Reuters reported.

“The publication of such false news under the present circumstances is akin to psychological warfare,” Mr. Sharif added.

U.S. officials on Wednesday accused the Revolutionary Guard of launching a “highly provocative” rocket test on Saturday near its warships and commercial traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Navy Commander Kyle Raines, spokesman for the U.S. Central Command on Tuesday said several Revolutionary Guard vessels fired the rockets “in close proximity” of the warships and nearby merchant traffic “after providing only 23 minutes of advance notification,” according to Reuters. 

“These actions were highly provocative, unsafe and unprofessional and call into question Iran’s commitment to the security of a waterway vital to international commerce,” Mr. Raines said.

The waterway is a crucial route for trade — nearly a third of all oil traded by sea passes through it — and is also vital for ships taking part in the war against the Islamic State terror group. 

The straight has been the subject of American and Iranian tension in the past, including a one-day naval battle in 1988. 

In his statement, Mr. Sharif insisted, “preserving the security and peace of the strategic Persian Gulf region is among the serious strategies of Iran, and the Guards carry out their military exercises … based on a set schedule.”