The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday that Iran attacked two ships in the Strait of Hormuz with missiles, killing one crew member and wounding eight others.
The strikes came after the United States launched a fresh salvo of strikes against Tehran, marking a new escalation in the resumption of hostilities in the Middle East war.
The oil-rich United Arab Emirates is a top US ally in the region and has reported multiple missile and drone strikes from Iran.
“The Ministry of Defence announces that the national tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah were targeted by two Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz, within Omani territorial waters,” the Emirati defence ministry wrote on X.
The attack killed one crew member, an Indian national, and wounded eight others, including four who “sustained serious injuries”, it said.
The strikes sparked fires on board both tankers which caused damage but have since been brought under control, it added.
“The Ministry of Defence condemned this flagrant attack, describing it as a grave violation and a clear breach of international law that threatens regional security and stability,” the ministry said.
The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route through which one fifth of the world’s oil passed before the war broke out in February, is a major point of contention between the United States and Iran.
Trump vowed on Monday to charge all cargo shipped through the waterway to pay for keeping it open, and to reinstate a blockade lifted last month on Iranian ships.
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