The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has announced that a tanker traveling off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz has been struck by a projectile, causing it to catch on fire.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) disclosed that the tanker had been hit by “an unknown projectile” off the coast of Oman, stating that the incident occurred 8 nautical miles east of Oman’s Limah.
The UKMTO said that the projectile hit the port side of the vessel while trying to traveling south out of the strait toward the Gulf of Oman. It noted that there was no environmental impact from the strike and that authorities were investigating.
Iranian state TV, quoting anonymous sources, implied that Tehran carried out the assault on a tanker it said was carrying natural gas from Qatar. However, there’s been no official claim from the Islamic Republic for the attack.
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. Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim the assault.
The attack comes days after the US and Iran exchanged tit-for-tat strikes following earlier assaults on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The earlier assaults followed the announcement of a US-backed corridor in Omani waters in a move Iran had opposed, saying it move violates the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries on June 17 to end hostilities.
Tehran has repeatedly declared that only its approved route through the strait is safe and is suspected of attacking other ships that have used another route close to the Omani shore.
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 U.S. 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.
Last Thursday, Iran’s joint military command warned 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 had said.
It also said that interference by US forces in the strait “will be met with a rapid and decisive reaction.”
US-Iran Talks On Hold Due To Late Supreme Leader’s Funeral
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.
Authorities flew Khamenei’s body to the Shiite seminary city of Qom overnight, where mourners honored him today. Early today, Iranian state television aired live images from a helicopter of hundreds of thousands of people walking toward Jamkaran Mosque, just south of Qom, for a funeral service for Khamenei.
The mosque is believed by Shiites to have once hosted the Muhammad al-Mahdi, the 12th and last Shiite imam, who disappeared in the 9th century and will one day reappear to bring justice to the world.
Images of Khamenei and his son, Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, were displayed on banners and posters held by mourners. Mojtaba Khamenei has yet to make an appearance in the funeral ceremonies, which are unfolding over several days. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the air.
Khamenei’s coffin will next be taken to Iraq for further rites before his body is returned to the Iranian city of Mashhad for burial on Thursday.
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