WASHINGTON, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. media reported on Monday that a U.S. navy surveillance ship was "harassed" by Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz last week, an old claim that had been rejected by Iran as the White House's media hype against Tehran.
Citing U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Washington Post reported that the USS Invincible was "harassed" on two occasions, on Thursday and Saturday.
Similar incidents between the United States and Iran occurred in the past. In January this year, a U.S. navy ship fired warning shots at five Iranian ships when the vessel and two other U.S. ships were entering the Strait of Hormuz.
In September, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said the U.S. military forces should leave the Persian Gulf as their presence in Iran's southern waters has no legal basis.
"The presence of American forces in the Persian Gulf lacks any legal and international justification and is against the will of regional nations," Shamkhani was quoted as saying by Press TV.
Washington's claims about Iran's allegedly "provocative" acts in the Persian Gulf is part of the White House's media hype against Iran, he said.
The Iranian official stressed that the U.S. claims about Iranian vessels getting too close to American warships in the Strait of Hormuz are mere propaganda.