Tehran: Days after two Indian ships were shot at, a Gujarat-bound ship was attacked at the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. It was among the two ships that was attacked by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. The fresh incident may also add to tensions between India and Iran.
The two ships, Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and Liberia-flagged Epaminodes, are now in Iranian custody, the country’s state television reported. Another ship, a Greek-owned Euphoria, was also attacked. As per Maritime traffic data, Epaminondas was on its way to Mundra Port in Gujarat. It was on its way to India from Dubai. Iran claimed the vessels did not have “required authorisation” and “manipulated navigation systems”, which risked maritime safety.
Tensions between Iran and the US over the Strait of Hormuz
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had earlier said that three commercial vessels were attacked in the waterway, which has been Iran’s control since the start of the war. Following Iran’s takeover of the waterway, several parts of the world have been affected due to oil supplies and surging crude prices.
Recently, the US had sized two Iranian-flagged cargo ships near the Gulf of Oman, which was part of its naval blockade. With the US and Iran supposed to hold a second round of to sort out differences, Tehran refused to proceed for the same, after US President Donald Trump announced the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.
MEA summoned Iranian envoy after two Indian ships attacked
After the two Indian ships were attacked recently, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had summoned the Iranian envoy in India and expressed strong objections to the incident. “During the meeting, Foreign Secretary conveyed India’s deep concern at the shooting incident earlier today involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz”, the MEA statement had said about the meeting.