Four Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels next to the guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton, in the Gulf, April 15, 2020. Photo: US Navy / Handout via Reuters

Iran released footage over the weekend purporting to show its military forces harassing US Navy vessels and forcing multiple helicopters to make an emergency landing in the Strait of Hormuz, but the US Department of Defense on Monday denied Iran’s claims.

The navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a US-designated terrorist organization, publicized video appearing to show its forces intercepting the USS Bataan and the USS Thomas Hudner on Thursday. Iranian media claimed the swarm of boats forced multiple helicopters to land back on the US warships.

According to the Pentagon, however, the claims coming out of Iran are false.

“We’ve seen this from them before pushing out, I don’t know if it’s propaganda, but I would say like, untrue statements, and that just is not accurate,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters on Monday, adding that she had not seen the footage in question.

Separately, Singh echoed the same message in a statement to Fox News Digital: “That report is not true. So I don’t know where that’s coming from, but we’ve seen this from them before pushing out, I don’t know if it’s propaganda, but I would say untrue statements, and that just is not accurate.”

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to The Algemeiner’s request for comment

In the heavily edited Iranian footage, an IRGC radioman can be heard threatening to fire on the US helicopters.

“Your helicopters is [sic] in vicinity of my vessels … sometimes going into Iranian territorial waters,” the man says. “Do not enter into Iranian territorial waters. If you do not obey my orders we will open fire on your helicopters.”

The video also shows Iranian sailors manning heavy machine guns pointed toward the helicopters and US ships. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported the helicopters “were forced to land” shortly after the warning. 

 The US Navy deployed the military forces to counter malign Iranian naval activity in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and Strait of Hormuz, which form a vital shipping route for oil production.

According to US Central Command, Iran has attacked or seized about 20 merchant vessels since 2021. Most recently, the US Navy intervened in July to prevent an Iranian attack on a pair of tankers in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. An Iranian naval vessel opened fired on one of the tankers with small arms, but fled when the USS McFaul arrived.

The US in July also sent additional F-35 and F-16 fighter jets to the region as part of efforts to further deter Iranian aggression.