Iran's navy forced a US submarine to surface as it entered the Gulf, Iranian navy commander Shahram Irani told state television on Thursday, but the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet denied such an incident had taken place.
"The US submarine was approaching while submerged, but the Iranian submarine Fateh detected it and carried out... maneuvers to force it to surface as it went through the Strait (of Hormuz). It had also entered into our territorial waters but ... it corrected its course after being warned," Irani said.
"This submarine was doing its best, using all its capacities, to pass in total silence and without being detected," Irani said. "We will certainly reflect to international bodies the fact that it had violated our border."
The US Navy's Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, denied what it called Iranian "disinformation".
"A US submarine has not transited the Strait of Hormuz today or recently," Commander Timothy Hawkins told Reuters.
"The claim represents more Iranian disinformation that does not contribute to regional maritime security and stability."
The US Navy said earlier this month that the nuclear-powered, guided-missile submarine Florida was operating in the Middle East in support of its Fifth Fleet.
