French news agency (AFP) reported that five Iranian speedboats swarmed three US navy ships as they transited the strategic Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, radioing a threat to blow them up, a Pentagon official said Monday.

The speedboats came within a couple hundred meters of the US vessels, the official said.
“I’m coming at you and you will blow up in a couple of minutes,” the official quoted the radio transmission as saying… The encounter occurred Saturday in international waters as the three US navy ships transited the Strait of Hormuz.

Reports of the incident came as President George W. Bush was to leave for the Middle East on Tuesday to boost the Israeli-Palestinian process and also to reiterate to allies that Washington continues to view Iran as a threat.

CNN, which first reported on encounter, said the speedboats were believed to be operated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. One of the boats released white boxes into water in front of one of US warships. A Pentagon official said it is a matter of serious concern and it is not known to us they were attacking us or they were afraid or they aimed to test our reaction.

Fars, the state run news agency, reported: “the IRGC forces threatened the US warships in the Strait of Hormuz.”