At least six people were injured and six others went missing after reported airstrikes by U.S. fighter jets on Iranian cargo and fishing vessels near Oman’s port city of Khasab, according to the semi-official News Agency.
Citing local officials, Bandar Lengeh County Governor Foad Moradzadeh said the vessels belonged to residents of southern Hormozgan province and were carrying 20 people at the time of the incident on Friday night. The injured have been hospitalized, while search operations are underway for those missing.
Separately, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported that at least one person was killed and 10 others injured in an earlier strike on a civilian vessel off the Hormozgan coast, adding that a cargo ship carrying 15 crew members caught fire, leaving four people unaccounted for.
Tensions in the region escalated following a series of reported exchanges between Iranian and U.S. forces in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy transit route.
Iran’s military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, alleged that U.S. forces attacked two Iranian vessels near the strait and conducted airstrikes on civilian areas in southern Iran, reportedly in coordination with regional partners.
Spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari said Iranian forces responded by targeting U.S. naval assets east of the Strait of Hormuz and near Chabahar port, claiming significant damage.
On the other hand, the United States Central Command stated that its forces acted in self-defence after intercepting what it described as “unprovoked Iranian attacks” while U.S. naval vessels were transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The situation remains highly volatile as both sides continue to present conflicting accounts of the incidents.