ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iranian commercial vessel was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, killing one person and injuring three others, said a local official, as tensions remain high in the strategic waterway.
The attack occurred at around 5 am local time near Hengam Island in Qeshm County, state-run IRIB News cited Governor Amir Teymouri as saying. He did not blame any party for the attack.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, where commercial shipping has faced growing security risks amid the ongoing confrontation between Iran and the United States.
It also comes as pressure mounts on Iran, with its currency falling and inflation remaining high, while Tehran has shown little sign of backing down over the Strait of Hormuz.
A day before the attack, Iranian officials said a recent understanding with Oman did not mean the strategic waterway would reopen in the near future, insisting that the United States must first meet Iran’s demands.
Iran and Gulf states, including Iraq, are set to meet in Oman on Monday to discuss commercial shipping through the strait.
Tehran and Muscat have reached an understanding that would provide a framework for any eventual reopening of the waterway, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Tasnim news agency.
During the two months that a US naval blockade of Iranian ports has been in place, US forces had redirected 100 Iranian commercial vessels as of September 12, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday.
TankerTrackers - an independent online service that tracks crude oil and petroleum-product shipments by sea - said on Saturday that during the full 60-day period ending that day no Iranian oil tanker has gone through the US naval blockade while crude oil from Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman crossed on an average rate of 7.85 million barrels per day.
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