May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. military naval units operating in the area of the Strait of Hormuz came under Iranian missile fire following an attack by the U.S. military on an Iranian oil tanker, Iranian state media, citing an unnamed military official, said on Thursday.

U.S. military vessels were forced to retreat after sustaining damage from Iranian missile strikes, it added.

It was unclear when the incident happened.

Iran's semi-official news agency Tasnim reported that three U.S. destroyers near the Strait of Hormuz were targeted in an attack by the Iranian navy.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Wednesday, the U.S. military said it had disabled an Iranian-flagged oil tanker that was trying to sail towards an Iranian port.

The U.S. military said that U.S. forces hit the tanker's rudder with an F-18 fighter jet.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi, Yomna Ehab and Ahmed Tolba, additional reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Nia Williams)