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Iranian state television said Thursday that Iran struck a U.S. oil tanker in the Gulf with a missile, describing it as the latest Iranian attack on the region’s energy industry.
In a statement carried by state TV, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the ship “was hit by a missile in the north of the Persian Gulf” and “is currently on fire.”
The report has not been independently confirmed.
The claimed strike came as the Revolutionary Guards said they have “full control” of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil and gas transit route linking the Gulf to the Indian Ocean.
The claim follows a separate incident reported by maritime security agencies involving a container ship struck while transiting the Strait of Hormuz north of Oman.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), an agency linked to the U.K. military, said the vessel was sailing eastbound when it was hit by an unknown projectile just above the water line, causing a fire in its engine room.
UKMTO said no environmental impact had been reported.
Maritime security firm Vanguard Tech identified the vessel as the Malta-flagged container ship Safeen Prestige.
Shipping tracker Marine Traffic showed the ship was traveling from the United Arab Emirates’ Ghantoot port to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and UKMTO said it was about two nautical miles north of Oman when it was hit.
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