The Iranian Navy has said it fired missiles and drones as warning shots at US warships approaching the Strait of Hormuz, in what it described as an attempt to challenge Iran’s control over the strategic waterway in the Persian Gulf.

In a statement on Monday, the Navy said it was forced to deploy cruise missiles, combat drones and rockets near US warships that had ignored warnings not to approach the Strait, News.Az reports, citing Iran's English-language Press TV.

The statement said the vessels had switched off their transponders and attempted to approach the Strait in “dark mode” before reactivating their radars.

The Navy said its forces warned the ships that any attempt to approach the Strait of Hormuz would violate a ceasefire announced in early April, which it said had halted what it called US-Israeli aggression against Iran.

“At this stage, after the US-Zionist destroyers ignored the initial warning, the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran fired warning shots with cruise missiles, rockets and combat drones near the aggressors’ vessels,” the statement said.

“The responsibility and dangerous consequences of such actions will fall upon the hostile enemy,” it added.

There were no immediate reports of a confrontation between the two sides.

According to Press TV, the attempted passage by US warships through the Strait of Hormuz came hours after US President Donald Trump announced he had ordered the military to begin an operation aimed at challenging Iran’s control over the Strait and ensuring passage for commercial shipping after what he described as disruptions in regional waters.

Earlier in the day, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also warned against any attempt by US military or commercial vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without coordination with Iranian authorities.

News.Az