Iran denies it fired rockets near US warships in key strait

In this Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015 photo released by the U.S. Navy, guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley participates in a replenishment-at-sea with fleet replenishment oiler USNS John Lenthall in the Gulf of Oman. Iranian naval vessels conducted rocket tests last week near the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, the USS Bulkeley destroyer and a French frigate, the FS Provence, and commercial traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the American military said Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015 causing new tension between the two nations after a landmark nuclear deal. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class M. J. Lieberknecht/ U.S. Navy via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

By Associated Press December 31, 2015 1 min read

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran has denied U.S. accusations of launching a provocative rocket test last week near Western warships in the Strait of Hormuz, dismissing the claim as “psychological warfare” against the Islamic Republic.

Gen. Ramezan Sharif, a Revolutionary Guard spokesman, said Thursday his forces didn’t carry out any drills in the key Persian Gulf waterway.

Sharif’s denial came a day after Cmdr. Kyle Raines, a U.S. Central Command spokesman, said Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels had fired several unguided rockets about 1,370 meters (1,500 yards) from USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and other Western warships and commercial traffic last Saturday.

Sharif said in comments on Guard’s website that its navy “had no drills in the Strait of Hormuz over the past week.”

The key waterway has seen past U.S.-Iran confrontations.