Panicked sailors pleaded with the Iranian navy after coming under fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
An audio recording revealed a tense exchange between the crew on board an Indian-flagged oil tanker and Iranian officials enforcing military control over the waterway.
This is motor tanker Sanmar Herald. You gave me clearance to go. My name is second on your list. You are firing now. Let me turn back,” a voice says from the Sanmar Herald.
The incident is believed to be the first of its kind in recent weeks and came after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sealed the strait again in response to the US continuing its naval blockade.
It also appears to show that Iran’s naval capability remains a threat to shipping despite heavy US and Israeli air strikes.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations said the tanker was “approached by 2 IRGC gunboats” which later “fired upon” the vessel.
Around the same time, a container ship was hit by an unknown projectile in the strait, the body reported.
Iran’s armed forces on Sunday said they had turned back two further tankers attempting to transit the strait, the semi-official ⁠Tasnim news agency reported.
The Sanmar Herald incident also suggests that Iran still has enough gunboats to harass maritime traffic despite the seven-week bombardment.
Air strikes have sunk much of Tehran’s conventional navy of larger vessels, but the IRGC has spent years building up a “mosquito fleet” of small craft and speedboats.
The small and agile attack craft have been central to Tehran’s ability to close the strait, even against the might of far larger and more powerful US navy vessels.
It was not immediately clear what type of vessel or what sort of weapons had been used against the Sanmar Herald, but Iran’s small boats are said to be armed with everything from heavy machine guns to missiles and drones.
They can also drop sea mines, which is another crucial part of Tehran’s arsenal to keep the strait closed.
Last month, it was reported that Iran may have released mines into the waterway. While officials have not been clear on how many may be present, clearing them will be key to finally opening the strait, analysts say.
The US military has begun using remote-controlled sea drones to help clear the waterway, the Wall Street Journal reported.The US military has begun using remote-controlled sea drones to help clear the waterway, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Both the US navy and the Royal Navy have pivoted away from traditional minesweeper vessels in recent years to the use of drone boats and submarines to find and dispose of mines at a safe distance.
Meanwhile, US intelligence estimates reckon Iran has retained around two fifths of its drone arsenal.
Intelligence assessments say that Iran has been recovering missile launchers and missiles buried underground or under rubble.
When this is complete, the country will have access to as much as 60 per cent of its pre-war total of missile launchers and 70 per cent of its total of missiles, the New York Times reported.When this is complete, the country will have access to as much as 60 per cent of its pre-war total of missile launchers and 70 per cent of its total of missiles, the New York Times reported.
The assessment comes despite US officials declaring that destroying missile stocks and missile production were key war aims.
Donald Trump said in the early hours of the war that America would “destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground”.
Majid Mousavi, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s Aerospace Force, ⁠claimed it was now able to update and replenish its missile and drone launchers at a higher rate than before the war.