RIYADH — Saudi authorities have officially blamed Tehran for a deadly strike on a Saudi-owned supertanker in the Strait of Hormuz, an incident that resulted in the deaths of two Filipino crew members. The vessel, named Sidr, was targeted late Monday evening while navigating the vital global trade corridor.
The Saudi national shipping enterprise, Bahri, acknowledged that the ship encountered a hostile security event just before midnight local time on Monday. Maritime intelligence specialists reported that the vessel was hit by unidentified projectiles north of Oman's Musandam Peninsula. A second supertanker registered in South Korea, the Senegal Prosperity, was similarly struck east of the peninsula around the same timeframe.
In an official statement, the Saudi foreign ministry strongly denounced the assault on the commercial carrier. The ministry also criticized recent Iranian military actions directed at neighboring states including Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait, while urging an immediate de-escalation of hostilities to protect international maritime routes and global energy markets.
Tehran has not directly addressed the accusation regarding the Saudi vessel. However, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps offered a different account, claiming that two oil tankers detonated mines after attempting to navigate an unauthorized path through the strait at the encouragement of American forces.
The latest maritime incident unfolds against a backdrop of severe military escalation between Washington and Tehran. The United States military recently launched a substantial wave of air strikes across Iran, prompting retaliatory missile and drone volleys targeting American military installations in nearby Arab countries.
Iranian health officials reported significant casualties resulting from the American bombardments. Meanwhile, Iranian authorities condemned a strike that reportedly hit a wedding party in the southern city of Sirik as a war crime, prompting the United States military to announce an internal review of the incident.
The Strait of Hormuz, which traditionally handles a massive share of the world's petroleum and gas transport, has remained effectively shut down since the onset of the broader conflict earlier this year. Persistent missile and drone threats against commercial traffic, combined with American naval blockades, have choked off normal transit through the vital passage.
Although diplomatic efforts previously yielded a tentative framework to resolve the maritime crisis and restore navigation, that arrangement collapsed shortly after commercial shipping attacks resumed. Tehran continues to assert its right to maintain oversight of the strategic waterway, frequently targeting vessels utilizing southern transit paths.
Reporting based on coverage first published by BBC News. Read the original report at BBC News.
