Iran Claims Attack on Oil Tanker in Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have claimed responsibility for striking and detaining an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, as a British maritime monitoring agency reported that a vessel in the area had been hit by an unidentified projectile.

Iranian state news agency IRNA reported the IRGC’s statement on Friday, saying the Togo-flagged oil tanker Trend was targeted after a fire broke out on board late Thursday.

The Revolutionary Guards said the tanker was detained over what they described as an attempted “illegal passage”.

The development comes as Iran maintains its grip over the strategic Strait of Hormuz while the United States continues its counterblockade of Iranian ports amid the ongoing Middle East war.

Iran has sought to charge ships for passage through the strait and has targeted vessels it accuses of trying to avoid its preferred route.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said early Friday that a ship had been hit by an “unknown projectile”, sparking a fire that was subsequently extinguished.

The maritime agency had earlier announced a “security incident” in the Strait of Hormuz late Thursday, although it did not provide details.

There was no immediate confirmation that the vessel referenced by UKMTO was the same tanker identified by the IRGC, leaving it unclear whether the two reports concerned the same incident.

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