Iranian ship fires on cargo vessel in Persian Gulf: reports

An Iranian naval patrol boat opened fire on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship, as it passed through the Persian Gulf on Thursday.

The incident comes in the wake of a March 22 incident when the same Singaporean ship, dubbed the Alpine Eternity, hit and damaged an Iranian oil platform in the Gulf, a senior U.S. official told USA Today.

{mosads}The Iranians initially fired warning shots, after the foreign ship refused to move into Iranian waters. The coast guard of the United Arab Emirates responded to the Alpine Eternity’s distress call, and the Iranian patrol boat left the area, according to The Associated Press.

The episode takes place as President Obama meets with Persian Gulf leaders at Camp David to address their concerns over a nuclear agreement with Iran.

Last month, the U.S. Navy began accompanying U.S.-flagged cargo ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran fired at and detained a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship and harassed a U.S.-flagged cargo ship.