New Delhi: China’s foreign ministry confirmed on Friday that an oil products tanker carrying Chinese crew was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. Beijing has expressed deep concerns.
This marks the first reported strike on a Chinese-linked vessel since the outbreak of the ongoing Iran-US conflict. There are Chinese nationals aboard the vessel, but no reported crew casualties so far, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, reported Reuters.
The attack happened ahead of a meeting between China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi in Beijing on Wednesday. They were to discuss the reopening of the strait.
China has remained a major buyer of Iranian oil since the outbreak of the Iran war. Its imports from Iran had been largely unaffected in March. The vessel has not been officially identified.
The tanker was reportedly struck by a drone near the strategic waterway earlier this week. The vessel, flagged under the Marshall Islands and linked to a Tianjin-based Chinese leasing company, caught fire after the attack.
The attack comes amid heightened military tensions between Iran and the United States in the Gulf. Recent days have seen exchanges of missile fire, drone attacks, and retaliatory strikes involving US naval assets and Iranian forces. Reports indicated that Iranian forces targeted US destroyers in the Strait, prompting what Washington described as “self-defense” strikes on Iranian military infrastructure.
