DUBAI: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they thwarted an attempt by the United States to detain a tanker carrying the Islamic Republic’s oil in the Sea of Oman.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Iranian report was not true and there had been no American attempt to seize a tanker.

The American officials said that in reality Iranian forces had seized a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker last month and U.S. naval forces were just monitoring the situation.

“With the timely and authoritative action of the Guards naval forces, the U.S. terrorist Navy’s operation to steal Iranian oil in the Sea of Oman failed,” the elite Guards said in a statement published by Iranian state media.

“The tanker carrying Iran’s oil docked at the port of Bandar Abbas on October 25.”

Iran has repeatedly warned the United States about its military activities in the Gulf, saying that the Guards’ naval forces have increased patrols to also secure the passage of Iranian ships and combat fuel smuggling.

Giving details of the reported incident, Press TV said the Guards had reacted “promptly” when the Iranian oil tanker was detained in the Sea of Oman.