Oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz hit by ‘unidentified projectile’
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced on Saturday that they had attacked American positions in the Gulf after US strikes on Iran.
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Daily TribuneIran’s Revolutionary Guards announced on Saturday that they had attacked American positions in the Gulf after US strikes on Iran.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — An oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was struck and damaged by an “unidentified projectile,” British maritime security agency UKMTO said on Saturday, following the first exchange of fire between the United States and Iran since their deal to end the Middle East war.
“The vessel sustained damage to their bridge; all crew are reported safe,” UKMTO said, while another British marine security firm, Vanguard Tech, said the vessel was the Panama-flagged tanker KIKU.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the military, announced on Saturday that they had attacked American positions in the Gulf after US strikes on Iran.
Iran on Saturday accused the US of violating the peace deal agreed to end the Middle East war, after Washington launched strikes on Iranian territory and Tehran responded with attacks on US targets in the Gulf.
The trading of fire, which came after Washington accused Tehran of attacking a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the week, raised questions about efforts to keep the crucial waterway open while both sides negotiate a broader, final deal.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the latest American strikes, against Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions, were a response to “unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces” that “clearly violated the ceasefire.”
But Iran lashed out at the attacks after its Revolutionary Guards launched its own retaliatory strikes.
“These brutal attacks, which targeted Iranian coastal surveillance facilities, are a blatant violation” of the memorandum of understanding to end the war, the Iranian foreign ministry said.
The Guards said they had struck US sites in the Gulf region in retaliation and that “if the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this,” according to a Telegram post by state TV.
Bahrain’s foreign ministry said the country was targeted by several Iranian drones early Saturday, condemning the attacks and accusing Tehran of “sabotaging peace efforts.”
On the US strikes, Iranian state television, citing a reporter in the southern city of Sirik, said an explosion was heard at a pier there late Friday. It quoted a military source saying a “projectile impact” in the area caused the blast.
“Sirik Port is operating normally, and no damage has been reported to its equipment or facilities,” Mehr news agency later said.
CENTCOM described the operation as “a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
US President Donald Trump had earlier denounced what he described as an Iranian drone strike on the vessel, saying “this is a foolish violation of our ceasefire agreement”.
Vice President JD Vance issued a direct warning, posting on X that “violence will be met with violence” if Iran carries out any further attacks.
