Iran authorities say 1 killed, 3 injured as merchant vessel struck in Hormuz

A ship was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, killing one person and injuring three, local Iranian authorities said, as Tehran and Washington clash over the strategic waterway. “A merchant vessel was struck around 5am this morning off the coasts of Hengam and Qeshm islands. One person was killed and three others were injured,” Qeshm city governor Amir Teymouri said, according to state TV, without specifying the origin of the strike. Several explosions were reported overnight around Qeshm, the largest island in the Hormuz strait. The deadly incident comes a day before a meeting between Iran and Gulf states in Oman, which also borders the strait, over the blockaded route crucial for global oil and gas trade. Control over the strait has become a major flashpoint in the conflict between Iran and the United States in their six-month war .

In retaliation for attacks by the United States and Israel that started the war on February 28, Iran has blocked the waterway, a passage that was previously free and unobstructed before the conflict began. Iran now requires vessels to obtain authorisation to pass through the strait, citing security and sovereignty concerns, and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees. Vessels that fail to comply are frequently targeted by Iranian strikes, while the United States sporadically bombs the Iranian coast in a bid to challenge Tehran’s control of the strait. Houthis hit Saudi base Separately, Houthi fighters on Sunday claimed they used drones and missiles to attack a military base in southern Saudi Arabia as renewed fighting with Yemen’s government forces forced growing numbers of civilians to flee. The attack at the southern Sharurah base targeted “weapons depots and command and control centres”, Houthi military spokesman Yahya…