The United States attacked two civilian cargo boats travelling from the Omani coast to Iran, killing at least five people on board, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing a military source.

The source rejected US claims that its forces had targeted speedboats belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), saying the attack instead struck vessels carrying civilian goods, News.Az reports, citing Iran's English-language Press TV.

“Instead of targeting IRGC speedboats, the United States opened fire on two small boats carrying civilian goods,” the source said, describing the incident as a “blatant crime”.

The source said initial US accounts were checked against local reports after it became clear that no IRGC vessels had been hit.

“The investigation revealed that US forces had attacked two small cargo boats transporting goods belonging to civilians,” the source said. “The boats were travelling from the town of Khasab, along the coast of Oman, towards Iranian shores. The attack resulted in the deaths of five civilian passengers.”

The source said the United States should be held accountable for the incident.

It attributed the attack to what it described as “hasty and clumsy” actions driven by fear following Iranian warnings against what Tehran calls hostile vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

News.Az