Iran has reportedly attacked an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf that it said belonged to the United States, Euro News reported. The attack was carried out using a missile that was fired on Thursday, March 5 in the latest Iranian attack on the region’s energy infrastructure. There was no immediate confirmation of the incident or a similar attack that Iran claimed earlier this week.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that the ship had been hit by a missile “in the northern Persian Gulf” and was “currently on fire”.
The Irish Revolutionary Guards also said that any military or commercial vehicle belonging to the US, Israel or any other European country coming to rescue or support it “will not be allowed to pass”.
In a statement released by state media on Thursday, the Guards said that in time of war, passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be under the control of the Islamic Republic. “In time of war, passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be in the hands of the Islamic Republic,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said, according to state media.
“If they are observed, they will definitely be hit. We have previously said that based on international laws and resolutions, the Islamic Republic of Iran will have the right to control the passage through the Strait of Hormuz in time of war,” Al Jazeera quoted the IRGC as saying, citing Iranian state media.
With the sinking of the IRIS Dena off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday, March 4, killing at least 80 people, the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran has spread beyond the Gulf states and into Asia.
After the ship was hit in international waters, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that Washington would “bitterly regret” the precedent it had set.
“We have decided to fight the Americans wherever they are,” General Kioumars Heydari, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told state television. He added that Iran does not care how long the war lasts. Tehran has also rejected any further negotiations with the United States.
The stakeholders on the other side don’t seem to budge either. According to a statement issued by Israel’s Defense Ministry, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also told his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz: “Keep going until the end – we are with you.”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump also praised the US war effort. He said the US was “doing very well on the war front”.
