France says Iran's behavior very dangerous

PARIS (Reuters) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Wednesday Iran's behavior in the sensitive Strait of Hormuz waterway was very dangerous and warned against any future acts of "provocation".

Washington says Iranian boats aggressively approached three U.S. Naval ships in the waterway, a major oil shipping route off Iran's coast, and threatened that the ships would explode.

The United States says the incident almost led to an exchange of fire, and U.S. President George W. Bush said on Tuesday it was "a provocative act".

"I describe Iran's behavior as very dangerous. I call on them to show restraint," Kouchner told a news conference when asked about the incident.

The United States released a video of the weekend incident, including a recording of what it said was the exchange between the two sides. Iran rejected the footage as fake and accused Washington of trying to stir up tension in the region.

"The bees of the patrol boats that were trying to sting the big ship, I find that very dangerous," Kouchner said.

"At this time and at that place, the Strait of Hormuz, any act of provocation, of attack or defense, seems extremely perilous, and so we call on both sides to show moderation."

Kouchner sparked a diplomatic storm last year when he said in a live television interview that the world should prepare for the possibility of war with Iran over its nuclear program, but he has since said he is doing everything to avoid that prospect.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, however, said in a magazine interview last month that there is a real risk of war with Iran and Israel rather than the United States was the country most likely to launch an attack on the Islamic Republic.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Dominic Evans)