Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- A naval force from Iran's Revolutionary Guard threatened to fire on U.S. Navy boats before retreating during an incident in international waters in the Persian Gulf, an American defense official said.

The five Iranian ships made threatening moves and radio transmissions during the confrontation Jan. 5 with three U.S. vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, CNN reported earlier, citing the Pentagon. One of the Iranian ships was within 200 yards (183 meters) of one of the U.S. boats, CNN said.

``I am coming at you, you will explode in a couple of minutes,'' the Iranians told the U.S. naval crews, according to the Pentagon account cited by CNN.

The U.S. ships were ready to fire when the Iranians turned away, CNN cited the military as saying.

The U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Gulf will issue a statement soon regarding the incident, a spokesman said in a telephone interview without providing details.

Crude oil rose above $98 a barrel in New York after CNN reported the confrontation.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tony Capaccio at acapaccio@bloomberg.net; Heather Langan in London at hlangan@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 7, 2008 10:02 EST