Tanker catches fire after projectile attack in Strait of Hormuz; Iran blamed
US officials blame Iranian military for attack; say one more vessel has been targeted and both ships have been damaged in the strikes
An oil tanker travelling off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz caught fire early on Tuesday (July 7) morning after it was struck by an unknown projectile on its port side, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency has said.
Suspicion over the attack immediately fell on Iran, which is also suspected of attacking other ships using a route close to the Omani shore despite warnings from Tehran to ships that only their route was safe in the waterway.
One more ship targeted: US officials
According to Al Jazeera, two US officials have told Axios news that Iran’s military fired at least two missiles at commercial ships going through the Strait of Hormuz.
The officials said that another commercial ship was also hit and both vessels have been damaged in the attacks.
Also read: Strait of Hormuz crisis: How insurers, not missiles, shut down world’s oil artery
No casualties, however, have been reported.
The attack was the latest targeting a vessel moving through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime.
US-Iran talks
The US is eager to press ahead with negotiations with Iran aimed at fully reopening the strait, rolling back Tehran's disputed nuclear programme and reaching a permanent end to the war launched February 28. But previous attacks in the strait have sparked retaliatory strikes by the US, which then saw Iran attack Gulf Arab states — raising the risk of an escalation.
Talks between Iran and the US, meanwhile, appear to be on hold until after the burial of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the war. Signs have been increasing that mourners at his funeral were calling for the death of US President Donald Trump.
Also read: Iran waives Hormuz transit fees, US lifts blockade, but conditions apply
Authorities flew Khamenei's body to the Shiite seminary city of Qom overnight, where mourners honoured him on Tuesday.
Iran’s warning to ships
The UKMTI said there was no environmental impact from the strike and that authorities were investigating.
Iran's joint military command warned last Thursday that all oil tankers moving through the strait must use its approved routes.
“Any failure to comply, deviation from the designated route, or disregard for the navigation protocols of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz will be met with an immediate and forceful response from the armed forces, endangering the security of the violating vessels,” the Iranian statement then said.
Also read: Iran says Hormuz will never return to pre-war state, will remain under its control
It also said that interference by US forces in the strait “will be met with a rapid and decisive reaction.”
Pushback against control of Hormuz
Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway.
The US and many Gulf Arab states say they won't agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait. An effort by Oman and a United Nations agency to launch a new route near Oman's shore earlier sparked attacks across the Mideast, highlighting the tensions.
The data firm Kpler reported that over the last weekend, at least 108 ships crossed through the strait using various routes.
(With inputs from agencies)