Iran’s Guard acknowledges encounter with US during a drill

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard acknowledged Sunday it had a tense encounter with U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf last week but alleged without offering evidence that American forces sparked the incident.

The incident Wednesday saw the U.S. Navy release video of small Iranian fast boats coming close to American warships as they operated in the northern Persian Gulf near Kuwait, with U.S. Army Apache helicopters.

In the Guard's telling, its forces were on a drill and faced “the unprofessional and provocative actions of the United States and their indifference to warnings.” It said the Americans later withdrew.

The Guard released no video or evidence to support its allegation. It also accused American forces of blocking Iranian warships on April 6 and April 7 as well.

Lt. Pete Pagano, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said the Navy stood by its earlier description of the incident Wednesday.

“Regarding any other interactions with our ships, U.S. forces continue to remain vigilant and are trained to act in a professional manner,” Pagano told The Associated Press in reference to the Guard's claims of other recent incidents.

The incident comes amid

In a tweet Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif kept up his criticism of President Donald Trump, claiming Iran soon would export ventilators despite facing one of the world’s worst outbreaks.

“All you need to do is stop interfering in the affairs of other nations; mine especially,” Zarif wrote. “And believe me, we do not take advice from ANY American politician.”