US Oil Tanker Hit In Northern Persian Gulf, Vessel Set On Fire, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Claim

Tehran: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that its naval forces hit a United States oil tanker with a missile in the northern Persian Gulf, setting the vessel on fire, according to statements carried by Iranian state media. 

According to reports, Iran’s Mehr news agency said that the tanker was hit by a missile in the north of the Persian Gulf early Thursday. The IRGC said the strike came amid escalating tensions in the region and reiterated warnings that it would enforce control over maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz during wartime. The IRGC reportedly added in its statement that Iran will be in charge of monitoring travel through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy shipping route that connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, in accordance with international wartime regulations. The IRGC issued a warning, stating that commercial and military ships connected to the US, Israel, Europe, and their allies would not be let to pass and could be struck if found.

Iran's Intelligence Ministry added that its forces have attacked locations of ‘separatist terrorist’ organizations purportedly trying to enter Iran through its western borders in cooperation with the Revolutionary Guard. The ministry asserted that the organizations were attempting to take advantage of the ongoing struggle with assistance from "the American-Zionist enemy," and it further stated that Iranian authorities were keeping a careful eye on border activity and would react to any threats.

This comes a day after a U.S. submarine torpedoed the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s navy said it recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 sailors after responding to a distress signal from the vessel, which had about 180 people on board. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Iranian warship, which he described as the country’s “prize ship,” was sunk by a torpedo fired from an American submarine. 

This development comes against the backdrop of the rapidly escalating war in the Middle East, after US and Israel jointly launched airstrikes against Iran's top leadership and military bases on February 28. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the architect of the country's anti-US stance, was killed in the joint military operation. 

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