Muscat: A container ship was fired upon by a gunboat of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday. While nobody was injured in the incident that occurred about 15 nautical miles to the northeast of Oman, the ship’s bridge suffered heavy damage, the UK Maritime Traffic Organisation (UKMTO) reported.
This attack came shortly after US president Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely. This is the second attack on a merchant vessels by the IRGC since a ceasefire was announced between the US and Iran. On Saturday, an Indian-flagged tanker was fired upon by an Iranian gunboat, following which New Delhi raised a strong protest.
The IRGC gunboat did not hail the ship over VHF before firing, the UKMTO said. The ship was apparently approached by the gunboat that gave no radio warning before it “fired upon the vessel,” and caused “heavy damage to the bridge,” the maritime authority said, citing the master of the container ship. The crew were reported safe. There was no environmental impact from the attack, as reported by timesnow.in.
Tehran has refused to attend the second round of negotiations in Islamabad till the US lifts the blockade on Iranian ports. The US military had fired upon, boarded and seized an Iranian cargo ship over the weekend. The ship was carrying ‘missile chemicals’ from China to Iran, Washington alleged.
Meanwhile, Iran’s semi-official Fars and Tasnim news agencies, believed to be close to the IRGC, reported Wednesday’s attack, citing the UKMTO. Iran was “lawfully enforcing” its control over the Strait of Hormuz, Fars said.
The IRGC gunboat opened fire on the container ship after it had “ignored the warnings of the Iranian armed forces”, Nour News, a website long affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said.
Trump has said that the US military will continue its blockade of Iranian ports and is awaiting a “unified proposal” from Tehran.
“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal. I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
While Iran has not yet responded officially to Trump’s announcement of the ceasefire extension, some initial reactions from Tehran suggested Trump’s comments were being treated skeptically.
Tasnim News Agency said Iran had not asked for a ceasefire extension and repeated threats to break the US blockade by force. An adviser to Iran’s lead negotiator, the speaker of parliament , Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Trump’s announcement carried little weight and may be a ploy.
