Iran on Wednesday attacked a ship headed to Mundra Port in Gujarat in the Strait of Hormuz, hours after US President Donald Trump announced an indefinite ceasefire, as fresh tensions flared across the region.
The vessel was one of two ships that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGC-N) said it had attacked and taken over, according to state-run PressTV.
IRGC-N identified the ships as MSC-Francesca and Epaminondas.
Shipping monitoring websites Marinetraffic.com and vesselfinder.com said the Liberian-flagged Epaminondas was travelling to Mundra from Jebel Ali port in Dubai and had been scheduled to arrive on Thursday.
According to steamshipmutual.com, which tracks ship ownership and insurance, the vessel is owned by Greek company Kalmar Maritime LLC.
On Saturday, Iran attacked two Indian ships in the Strait that had received permission to pass through the waterway. India lodged a strong protest with Tehran over those incidents.
IRGC-N said the two ships were attacked because they were “operating without authorisation”.
A British Navy monitoring outfit confirmed that two ships were fired upon by IRGC gunboats, with one reporting it had been immobilised and the other damaged.
It did not confirm the Iranian claim that the ships had been taken over or identify them by name.
Britain`s UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre said a container ship reported it was approached by an IRGC gunboat, which fired without a radio challenge.
It “has caused heavy damage to the bridge. No fires or environmental impact reported. All Crew reported safe,” it said.
The other ship, a cargo carrier, did not report damage and the “crew are safe and accounted for,” UKMTO added.
There was no immediate reaction from Trump or the US government.
Trump extends ceasefire but keeps naval blockade; Iran refuses to reopen Hormuz
Although Trump extended the ceasefire indefinitely on Tuesday, he said the US naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue.
Iran later said it would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz as long as the blockade remained in place.
“A complete ceasefire only has meaning if it is not violated through a naval blockade,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said.
“Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not possible amid a blatant violation of the ceasefire.”
Oil prices edge higher amid Hormuz uncertainty, US stocks gain
Oil prices, which have surged since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on February 28, edged higher amid uncertainty over whether fighting would resume, though US stock prices gained ground.
Strikes continue in Lebanon, Gaza
Elsewhere in the conflict, Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed veteran Al-Akhbar newspaper correspondent Amal Khalil and wounded freelance journalist Zeinab Faraj on Wednesday, despite a negotiated ceasefire.
A Lebanese Red Cross official told AFP they “managed to rescue” Faraj but could not reach Khalil under the rubble immediately and withdrew “because of a warning strike” for several hours before later recovering her body.
Lebanon`s Information Minister Paul Morcos called the targeting of journalists “a grave crime and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.
In Gaza, three children were among five Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes targeting civilians near Al-Qassam mosque in Beit Lahia, Gaza`s civil defence agency said.
At least 786 Palestinians have been killed since the October 10 ceasefire with Israel, according to Gaza`s health ministry.
(With IANS and AFP inputs)