U.S. Navy officials say a U.S. ship encountered three small Iranian speed boats Thursday in the Persian Gulf.

The officials said Friday the USS Typhoon was in the central Gulf when at least one of three high-speed boats approached the ship.

The officials said the boats kept their distance after the Navy ship fired a warning flare.

It is unclear whether the speed boats were armed.

Iranian arabic television Al-Alam reports the Iranian navy denies the incident.

The U.S. Defense Department has said there were three confrontations between the U.S. Navy and Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf from December to January. One ended after a U.S. ship fired warning shots to deter the Iranian vessel.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.