Iranian commercial ship hit near Strait of Hormuz; 1 dead, 3 injured

A person was killed, and three others were injured after an Iranian commercial ship was struck off Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday (September 13), local Iranian authorities said, as Tehran and Washington clash over the strategic waterway.

A merchant vessel was hit early this morning (around 5 a.m. 0130 GMT) off the coasts of Hengam and Qeshm islands. “One person was killed and three others injured,” state TV quoted Qeshm city governor Amir Teymouri as saying, without giving the origin of the strike.

Separately, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a vessel was struck by a projectile while transiting the strait but gave no further details about the incident.

There was no immediate comment from the US military. The incident occurs amid continuing U.S. military operations against Iranian-flagged vessels as part of its blockade of Iranian ports.

Overnight there were reports of a number of explosions around Qeshm, the largest island in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz where tensions are rising.

The deadly incident comes a day before Iran is scheduled to hold talks with Gulf states in Oman, which also borders the strait, on the future of the route that is crucial to global oil and gas shipments.

The control of the Strait of Hormuz has become a major flashpoint in the six-month conflict between Iran and the United States. Iran had closed the waterway in response to attacks by the United States and Israel that began the war on February 28, and which had left it a free, unencumbered passage before the conflict began.

Iran has said it now requires vessels to get authorization to pass through the strait, citing security and sovereignty concerns, and is discussing a mechanism to impose service fees. Ships that do not follow the rules are often the target of Iranian strikes while the United States periodically bombs the Iranian coast to try to challenge Tehran’s control of the strait.

Earlier, again said the war in Iran is approaching its end, saying the conflict would be over soon after the US midterm elections in November and predicted oil prices would fall sharply after that. "It's going to end very soon," Trump told reporters during a trip to Ireland on Saturday, suggesting it could happen "right after the midterms".

When the fighting in the Middle East ends, prices of oil will "come tumbling down", he said. This is the second time in a week that the US President has mentioned the end of the war.

That’s what Iran is doing. They’re trying to influence our voters, they’re trying to influence our elections,” Trump told reporters in Dallas September 10. "I believe the war ends right after the election. “They are desperate to try and affect the election so that we could get a nice, weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon,” Trump said.