A US WARSHIP fired warning shots at three Iranian speedboats that came close to a patrol in the Persian Gulf, the navy confirmed on Tuesday.

It said that US naval vessels “retain the inherent right to act in self-defence” after the incident, which took place in international waters in the northern stretch of the Gulf on Monday.

“The US crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and loudhailer devices,” the US Fifth Fleet said in a statement.