U.S. says it destroys two Iranian boats near Hormuz
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The U.S. military destroyed two Iranian boats near the Strait of Hormuz after they attempted to seize a U.S. naval drone, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
The incident occurred near Kargan port and Larak Island in Iran’s Hormozgan province, according to U.S. officials and Iranian media. (Axios)
U.S. officials told Axios that the boats were operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and attempted to capture a U.S. unmanned surface vessel operating in the strategic waterway.
U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins confirmed that Iranian forces attempted to seize the U.S. vessel, saying the attempt failed after U.S. forces responded. (Axios)
Iranian authorities, however, described the vessels as fishing boats. Ahmad Nafisi, deputy governor of Hormozgan province for political and security affairs, said two fishing boats were targeted by a drone near Kargan and Larak Island, leaving several fishermen missing.
Nafisi said search-and-rescue teams were deployed to locate the missing fishermen and that further details would be released after an investigation. (Mehr News Agency)
The incident comes amid heightened tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, where military confrontations and attacks on shipping have sharply reduced maritime traffic in recent days. Reuters reported Tuesday that only four commodity vessels crossed the waterway on Monday, compared with 10 the previous day and an average of about 125 daily transits before the conflict. (Reuters)