Tehran: The United States reportedly struck two fishing boats off Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, injuring two Iranian fishermen.
According to news agency IRNA, the two fishermen who went missing following the drone attack have been found, Qeshm Fishing Community CEO said. Both were sent back to Qeshm Island.
Meanwhile, one of the two injured fishermen was taken to a hospital, Al Jazeera reported, citing Fars news agency.
“This incident occurred around 11:30 am today involving two fishing boats within 18 miles of the village of Musan, affiliated with Qeshm County… Each boat had two occupants,” the deputy governor of Hormozgan Province for political, security and social affairs told Tasnim news agency, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Amid continuing strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian naval forces earlier destroyed an “enemy submarine” and damaged two commercial oil tankers in the operational zone east of Hormuz on Friday morning.
State broadcaster Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), citing the Iranian Navy’s Public Relations department, reported that Iranian forces targeted and destroyed an adversary submarine navigating the operational sector near the strategic maritime chokepoint.
“This morning, an enemy submarine that was operating in the operational area east of the Strait of Hormuz was hit and destroyed by Iranian Navy sailors,” the Navy statement read.
Meanwhile, US Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said on Friday (local time) that internationally recognised transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz had been cleared of Iranian sea mines, allowing commercial vessels to sail freely through the waterway.
Cooper said he had visited more than 50,000 service members supporting operations across the Middle East and witnessed dozens of commercial vessels, including cargo, crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, transiting the strait.
Amid the possibility of fresh strikes, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordered senior commanders to confront threats with an “immediate, effective, and unrestricted geographical response”.
According to a series of posts on Khamenei’s X account, he met senior armed forces commanders amid the possibility of fresh escalation between the United States and Iran.
“Every level and type of threat must be confronted with an immediate, effective, and unrestricted geographical response,” the statement read.
