U.S. Copters Fire on Iran Boats

MANAMA, Bahrain — Two U.S. helicopters traded fire with a pair of Iranian gunboats after the boats attacked a tanker in the northern Persian Gulf today, U.S. military sources said.

The sources said there was no damage to the aircraft and it was not known whether the boats were damaged in the clash, which occurred at about 7 p.m. The sources said the helicopters, off the U.S. missile frigate Nicholas, were responding to a distress call from a Panamanian-flag tanker west of Iran’s Farsi Island. It was the second time in less than two weeks that an American warship responded to a distress signal from a neutral ship in the gulf.