An Iranian freighter suffered minor damage in an "explosion" in the Red Sea, the foreign ministry said Wednesday, after US media reported the vessel had been hit by Israel.

The blast struck the "Iranian commercial vessel" MV Saviz off the coast of Djibouti at around 6 am local time Tuesday, ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh said, adding that an inquiry had been opened into the cause.

Overnight Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that the vessel, which was used by the Iranian armed forces, had been damaged by "limpet mines.”

It is the latest in a series of reported attacks on Israeli- or Iranian-owned cargo ships since late February, for which the two sides have each accused the other of being responsible.

The New York Times cited a US official as saying Israel had informed Washington it had struck the Saviz in "retaliation for earlier Iranian strikes on Israeli vessels.”