Iranian state media, citing a military official who declined to be named, reported on Thursday that U.S. 'naval units' operating in the strait of Hormuz were hit by a missile fired from Iran after the U.S. attacked an Iranian oil tanker.

It added that U.S. military ships were forced to retreat due to damage caused by Iranian missile strikes. The exact date of the incident was not known.

The Pentagon didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. However, on Wednesday the U.S. The military claimed that it had disabled a?tanker flying the Iranian flag which was attempting to?sail toward an Iranian port.

The U.S. Military said that "U.S. The F-18 fighter jet was used to strike the tanker's rudder. Reporting by Parisa Hafezi, Yomna ehab and Ahmed Tolba; additional reporting by Idrees ali; editing by Chris Reese

(source: Reuters)