World Affairs
U.S. denies Iran's claim it struck Navy drone boat in Hormuz
The competing accounts followed U.S. strikes on three Iranian oil tankers and a new exchange of fire around the critical waterway.
Executive summary
- The denial: The U.S. military rejected Iran's claim that it struck an unmanned American vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the account a total lie.[1]
- The competing claim: Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Sunday that it hit a U.S. drone boat trying to enter what Tehran called a protected area of the waterway.[1][2]
- The exchange: The claim came one day after U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers following reported missile attacks on two Navy warships.[1][3][4]
- The escalation: The successive attacks deepen a campaign focused on military and commercial vessels around a waterway central to global energy trade.[1][2]
The U.S. military rejected Iran's claim that it struck an unmanned American vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the account a total lie, the Associated Press reported Sunday. Iran's Revolutionary Guard had said it hit a U.S. drone boat trying to enter what Tehran called a protected area of the waterway; no independent damage evidence was available.[1][2]
The reported strike marked another exchange of fire around the waterway after a month of relative calm. Iran also said it targeted three oil tankers and three U.S.-linked vessels Saturday after American forces attacked Iranian tankers; those Iranian accounts were not independently confirmed.[1][3][5]
U.S. Central Command said its forces struck three Iranian crude-oil carriers after ballistic missiles targeted an American aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer. The military said the warships evaded the attacks and no U.S. personnel were hurt.[3][4]
The U.S. military said the M/T Downy and M/T Stark 1 were permanently disabled and the unladen M/T Kylo was destroyed in the Gulf of Oman after its crew was warned to abandon ship. The public accounts did not provide an independent casualty total or full environmental assessment.[3][4]
The strikes occurred near Kharg Island, Jask and the Gulf of Oman, extending a U.S. tanker-for-tanker campaign reported by Axios. The new Iranian claim keeps the Strait of Hormuz at the center of the conflict while leaving the condition of the reported American drone boat unresolved.[1][3][4]