Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy vessels conducted unsafe and unprofessional actions against U.S. Military ships by crossing the ships' bows and sterns at close range while operating in international waters of the North Arabian Gulf.

WASHINGTON — Nearly a dozen vessels from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy took "dangerous and provocative" actions near U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Persian Gulf, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Six U.S. military vessels were conducting training operations in international waters when 11 Iranian ships "crossed the bows and sterns of the U.S. vessels at extremely close range and high speeds," according to a U.S. Navy statement.

At one point, the Iranian ships came within 10 yards of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Maui's bow.

The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio, five short blasts from the ships' horns and long-range acoustic noise maker devices to the Iranian ships.

"After approximately one hour, the IRGCN vessels responded to the bridge-to-bridge radio queries, then maneuvered away from the U.S. ships and opened distance between them," the statement added.

When asked about the matter on Fox News, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration was evaluating a response.

"We've seen this before, where the Iranians behave in ways that were inconsistent with international law ... We've talked as a team we've talked across the interagency. We're evaluating how best to respond and how best to communicate our displeasure with what took place," Pompeo said Wednesday.