Tehran, Aug 19:
A ship was hit by a projectile early Tuesday as it was sailing out of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the British military’s UK Maritime Trade Operations centre, and an Iranian official said the route would not be reopened until the United States meets Iran’s conditions.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the attack highlights the ongoing danger of attempting to transit the waterway as Iran continues to throttle shipping traffic, even as it finalises negotiations with Oman on a plan to manage the critical passage.
An unidentified projectile damaged the engine room of a ship and “resulted in a crew casualty” early Tuesday morning as the vessel was trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman, the UKMTO said, citing a report from the company’s security office.
The maritime monitoring agency did not release any details about the ship or its cargo, and it was not clear whether the crew member was killed in the attack or wounded. It said the Omani Coast Guard was assisting other crew members and that authorities were investigating.
The US also is currently blockading all Iranian shipping traffic through the strait. Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, reiterated Tuesday that Tehran plans to maintain its grip on shipping traffic until Washington meet Iran’s conditions.
“Until the United States fulfills its commitments under the agreement, including lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, lifting oil sanctions, ending threats and military operations on all fronts, and implementing the other conditions to which it committed, the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen,” he said.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed they fired drones at an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, the latest in a spate of recent attacks that have threatened to reignite the country’s civil war and open another front in the Middle East.
The attack targeted a facility run by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, according to a report in Houthi-run SABA news agency.
There were no immediate reports of damage or comment from Saudi Arabia.
At least 17 Yemeni civilian deaths have been reported in the government-controlled areas in Yemen as a result of rebels’ attacks since August 6, while two casualties were reported in Houthi-controlled areas in late July, the United Nations said Monday.