The conflict between the United States and Iran has intensified further, with Iranian media reporting fresh US strikes that triggered explosions on Kish Island, Qeshm Island, Bushehr and the strategic port city of Bandar Abbas.
In response, Tehran claimed it launched retaliatory attacks targeting US military facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, while also striking two oil supertankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
One Indian crew was killed and six others also Indian nationals were injured after two Emirati oil tankers came under Iranian cruise missile attack in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence.
US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would reimpose a naval blockade on Iranian ports in the coming hours and declared that the United States would serve as the “guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz, proposing a 20 percent transit fee for vessels using the vital maritime route.
The attack targeted the oil tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah while they were sailing through the southern shipping lane of the Strait in Omani territorial waters, marking a serious escalation in the strategic Gulf waterway.
The Indian sailor who lost his life was serving aboard the Mombasa. In total, eight crew members were wounded in the attack, including six Indians and two Ukrainian nationals. Four of the injured were reported to be in critical condition.
The missile strikes come amid rapidly escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, raising fresh concerns over the safety of commercial shipping and the thousands of seafarers navigating one of the world’s busiest energy corridors.
