WASHINGTON, Jan 10: The United States on Thursday made a formal protest to Iran over a weekend incident in which Iranian speedboats swarmed around US warships in the Strait of Hormuz, US officials said.

“We have in fact now prepared and given to the Swiss a diplomatic note formally protesting this incident,” State Department spokesman Tom Casey said, adding he expected the note to be delivered shortly.

Casey refused to give the details of the US protest, saying: “I would simply just say that it reiterated the points that we have made publicly over the last few days about this incident.” —AFP