Tehran: Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) hit an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the official news agency IRNA reported.
The report said the “violating” oil tanker, sailing under the commercial name ‘Prima’, was struck by a drone after it failed to pay attention to frequent warnings issued by the IRGC’s Navy about the prohibition of movement across the Strait of Hormuz due to security reasons, Xinhua news agency reported.
The report quoted the IRGC as saying that the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been “under control” for eight days since the beginning of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran and the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and oil tankers and commercial vessels allied with the “hostile states” are not allowed to pass through it.
On Friday, Iran said that it has no plan to close the Strait of Hormuz and denied reports claiming that the country has fully blocked the strategic waterway.
According to a report by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, a senior officer of IRGC said in an interview with state TV that claims by some media outlets that Iran had closed the Hormuz strait were inaccurate.
“We have been accused by some of closing the strait, but in fact Iran has not shut down this waterway,” the officer said, adding that Iran would handle shipping in the area in accordance with international navigation rules.
Iran’s state TV quoted a military source as saying on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz remained open, but warned that any vessels belonging to the United States or Israel would be considered military targets.
Also on Friday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told an international conference in New Delhi that Iran had not closed the Strait of Hormuz and had no immediate plan to do so.
“If Iran decides to close the strait, it will make an official announcement,” he said.
On Thursday, several Iranian media outlets quoted an Iranian military officer as saying that Iran had not closed the Hormuz strait. The officer said Iran treats transiting vessels in accordance with international agreements and only intercepts warships disguised as commercial vessels.
But the IRGC reiterated that in times of war, Iran has the right to control navigation through the strait and that vessels belonging to the United States, Israel and European countries were prohibited from passing through it.
The United States and Israel launched massive attacks on Iran on February 28, killing Khamenei, multiple senior military commanders and hundreds of civilians. Iran has responded with multiple waves of missile and drone attacks targetting Israel and US assets across the region.
(IANS)
