USS Harry S. Truman
USS Harry S. TrumanReuters

Iran last Thursday denied that its navy launched rockets in the Strait of Hormuz right next to American warships in what the US condemned as a shocking provocation, but Tehran was caught in its lie on Saturday when the US Navy released footage from the event.

According to the Navy, the video shows Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) ships shooting off rockets right near Western warships and commercial traffic in the strategic waters late last month.

A US military official said early last week that the rocket firing was part of a test which took place near three Western warships, including the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier. The official added that the US viewed the event as "highly provocative."

But IRGC spokesperson Ramezan Sharif last Thursday denied the incident even took place, saying, "the naval forces of the Guards have not had any exercises in the Strait of Hormuz during the past week and the period claimed by the Americans for them to have launched missiles and rockets."

"The publication of such false news under the present circumstances is akin to psychological warfare," he claimed, before being proven to be lying by the footage released Saturday.

The Strait of Hormuz is a highly strategic narrow channel at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, through which a third of the world's traded oil passes.

The US has warned Iran that any attempt to close the strait would be viewed as a "red line" - grounds for American military action.