Fire broke out on an oil tanker in one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they struck and detained the vessel in the Strait of Hormuz — an incident that coincided with a British maritime report of an attack in the same waters.
Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the strategic strait as Washington continues pressing its counter-blockade of Iranian ports during the Middle East war.
The Islamic republic wants to charge ships for passage, attacking vessels it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route.
In a statement carried by state news agency IRNA, the Revolutionary Guards said the Togo-flagged oil tanker ‘Trend’ was “targeted and detained after a fire broke out on board” late yesterday, describing the voyage as an attempted “illegal passage”.
Early today, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a ship was struck by an “unknown projectile”, sparking a fire that was later extinguished.
The monitoring agency had also reported a “security incident” in Hormuz late last night, without giving details.
It was unclear if the IRGC and UKMTO reports referred to the same incident.
Pakistan vows to defend ally Saudi ‘to any extent’
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s military spokesman said his country is prepared to “go to any extent” to defend ally Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom faces intensified attacks from Yemen’s Houthi forces.
Houthi forces reported fresh Saudi airstrikes this week, as Riyadh accused the group of launching a “cowardly” attack targeting Islam’s holy city of Mecca, prompting a wave of outrage from around the Muslim world.
In an interview yesterday with Arab News, Pakistan’s military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said his country would back Saudi Arabia “both diplomatically and physically”.
“We will go to any extent for the security of (the two holy sanctuaries) and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey last month signed the so-called Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, committing the three countries to mutual defence in the event of any of them being attacked.
The pact came against a backdrop of war between the United States and Iran and attacks in the region from Tehran-backed Houthi rebels.
“Pakistan fully stands with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, both diplomatically and physically,” Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told Arab News in an interview yesterday.
