An Iranian cargo vessel was struck early Sunday off Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said, a day before Tehran plans to brief countries in the region on its contested efforts to manage shipping traffic there.
The attack, which the reports said killed one and wounded four, drew attention back to the strait after threats to shipping in the region intensified last week when Iran-backed Houthi rebels captured an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted the Qeshm governor as blaming a “terrorist enemy” for Sunday’s attack. There was no immediate comment by the U.S. military, which has struck Iranian-flagged vessels during its blockade of Iranian ports and faces a new threat from Iranian ballistic missiles launched at its warships.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations monitor said a vessel was hit by a projectile while transiting the strait, though it wasn’t clear if this was referring to the same attack. The monitor said a fire had broken out and that local authorities were evacuating those on board.
Qeshm Island, about 14 miles (22 kilometers) from the port city of Bandar Abbas, is key to Iran asserting control over the Strait of Hormuz.
