TEHRAN - Saudi coastguard officers have opened fire on Iranian fishing boats in the Persian Gulf, killing a fisherman, an act that the Iranian Interior Ministry has said is against “navigational principles”.

"Two Iranian boats that were fishing in the waters of the Persian Gulf were pushed off their course by waves. There was shooting by Saudi border guards ... and one Iranian fisherman was killed," an Interior Ministry official said.

The incident happened on Friday night.

"We are pursuing this matter to determine if the Iranian boats had crossed the Saudi border or not, but the action of the Saudis does not comply with humanitarian and navigational principles," said Majid Aqababai, an Iranian border affairs official.

PA/PA