Tehran, Jan 13: Iran's Foreign Ministry on Sunday accused Washington of trying to spread anti-Iranian sentiment in the Mideast by claiming that Iranian boats threatened U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf.

The Jan. 6 incident in the Strait of Hormuz between U.S. and Iranian naval vessels has heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington.

The U.S. has said an Iranian fleet of high-speed boats charged at a three-ship U.S. Navy convoy passing near Iranian waters. The Iranian naval forces vanished as the American ship commanders were preparing to open fire.

Iran has insisted its boats never threatened the U.S. ships and that the incident was a normal occurrence in the Gulf waters.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini reiterated Sunday that the incident was not unusual and would not affect Iran's policies in the region. He accused the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush of trying to stir up tensions in the Gulf.

``Some political factions in the U.S. are pursuing adventurism to help Bush to spread Iran-phobia in the region,'' Hosseini said.

``U.S. officials should apologize to Iran, regional countries and the American people,'' he told reporters at this weekly press conference.

Earlier Sunday in Bahrain, U.S. Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Gulf, told Bush, who was in Bahrain as part of a Mideast tour, that he took the incident ``deadly seriously.''

On Friday, the Navy also said one of its ships had fired warning shots at a small Iranian boat in the Strait of Hormuz in December during one of two serious encounters with such craft that month.

But Hosseini on Sunday said: ``This was not confirmed by any of the related authorities.''

The spokesman of Iran's Armed Forces headquarters, Masoud Jazayeri, also called the U.S. reactions as a ``ridiculous show'' and said the ``American warmongers want to sway public opinion.''

``The show only had one real part; Iranians are persistent in defending Strait of Hormuz,'' said Jazayeri late Saturday in a statement, a copy of which was made available to The Associated Press.

Adm. William J. Fallon, the top U.S. military commander in the Mideast, has said Iran runs the risk of triggering an unintended conflict if its boats continue to harass U.S. warships in the strategic waterway.

The United States has called the incident ``a provocation,'' and many in the Gulf have seen it as a warning from Iran to its Arab neighbors that its forces are capable of stirring up trouble in Gulf, a vital oil passageway.

Bush was to offer security assurances to Gulf allies during a speech later Sunday in the United Arab Emirates. The Arab Gulf countries are jittery about the incident but also are seeking assurance that Bush doesn't want war.

U.S. officials say the confrontation last week occurred after five Revolutionary Guards speedboats approached the three-ship U.S. convoy as it entered the Gulf through the strait. The boats repeatedly charged the warships, dropping boxes in the water.