Iran's Defense Minister Amir Hatami categorically rejected today the American accusations that Tehran is responsible for the attacks on two tankers in the Omani (Arabian) Sea, the Irna agency reported.
Washington accuses Iran of being responsible for the explosions that damaged two tankers on June 13.
The US military released a low-resolution video claiming that an Iranian naval patrol attempted to remove an unexploded mine on one of the two ships. The US Army also released photos.
"The accusations against the Iranian armed forces and the published video related to the incident have no basis and we categorically reject it," General Hatami said.
According to him, the Iranian forces were among the first to approach the tankers after the accident and to provide assistance. Iranian forces rescued 23 people on one of the two ships.
When the Iranian forces reached the second ship, the crew said that a ship had come to their aid, Hatami said, adding that the Americans had probably arrived first at the location shown in the video.
Iran's Foreign Ministry last Sunday dismissed US allegations of the attack as baseless.
Iranian officials assume that Washington is behind the attacks, which occurred during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Tehran.
Two tankers, one Norwegian and the other Japanese, were the targets of the attack. The incident took place about 30 nautical miles off the coast of Iran.
Tensions between Iran and the US have been reigning in that area for more than a month.
Washington, which continues to tighten economic and diplomatic sanctions against Tehran after withdrawing from the international agreement on Iran's nuclear program, sent additional military forces to the Middle East in early May. The US then accused Iran of preparing "imminent attacks against US interests".
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