UAE says Iranian missile attack hits tankers as Tehran disputes shipping route

The United Arab Emirates has announced that Iran attacked two ships in the Strait of Hormuz with missiles, killing one crew member and wounding eight others.

"The Ministry of Defence announces that the national tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah were targeted by two Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz, within Omani territorial waters," the Emirati defence ministry wrote on X.

The attack killed one crew member, an Indian national, and wounded eight others, including four who "sustained serious injuries", it said.

The injured included six Indian nationals and two Ukrainian nationals.

The strikes sparked fires on board both tankers, which caused damage but have since been brought under control, it added.

Both vessels sustained material damage after the fires broke out.

Iran disputes UAE account

Iran said the US military encouraged the two supertankers to use an unauthorised route through the Strait of Hormuz before they were hit and disabled.

In a statement, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said US forces had urged several vessels to attempt passage through what it described as an illegal route in the strategic waterway.

According to the statement, the two supertankers switched off their navigation systems and ignored repeated warnings from the Strait of Hormuz Maritime Security Control Centre, putting other maritime traffic at risk.

The IRGC said the vessels then attempted to use a mined route before being hit and put out of service.

It did not say what struck the tankers or explicitly claim responsibility for the incident.

The force warned that cooperation with the US and attempts to use the mined route would cause further damage, delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and deepen the global energy crisis.

UKMTO tracks secondary incident

Separately, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had received a report from the master of a tanker that was struck by an unknown projectile in the tanker's starboard-side engine room, about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometres) northeast of Qalhat, Oman.

UKMTO said authorities were investigating the incident and advised vessels transiting the area to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.

The incident came amid escalating military tensions after the US launched a third consecutive day of strikes on Iran, saying the operations were intended to weaken Tehran's capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz.

The waterway, a vital shipping route through which one-fifth of the world's oil passed before the war broke out in February, is a major point of contention between the United States and Iran.

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Source: TRT