Washington claims that five small Iranian vessels, manned by Revolutionary Guards, had approached three US warships in a provocative manner and that one of the Iranian boats radioed a message to a US vessel saying it was laden with explosives and intended to ram one of the warships. According to a US spokesman, the speed boats then dropped into the path of the US ships floating white boxes.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described the encounter as “provocative and dangerous” but Iranian officials argued that there had been no threatening message. “What happened between the Guards and foreign vessels was an ordinary identification,” stated Ali Reza Tangsiri, commander of the Guards' naval forces in the region. The incident occurred as George W Bush was preparing for an extended tour of West Asia during which he intends to boost Palestinian-Israeli negotiations and to try to convince the Arabs that Iran remains the main threat to the peace of the region.  One US analyst observed that Washington might be trying to prove that Iran remains dangerous in spite of the US National Intelligence Estimate released late last year which stated that Iran halted its nuclear programme in 2003. A second US observer argued that Washington's claims are meant to scare Gulf states into purchasing arms from the US.

A third US analyst with an intelligence background suggested that the US officers and crew on the warships had been pumped full of so much anti-Iranian propaganda that they misconstrued the encounter with the Iranian speed boats.   

The main danger of the latest incident is that it could escalate into a full blown confrontation between the Iranian navy and the US Fifth Fleet.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow neck of water which connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, is a vital conduit for oil exports, carrying 20-25 per cent of the world’s crude supplies.