Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said a fuel tanker was burning in the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by two drones, Iranian news agencies reported on Monday.
The strait is the world’s most vital oil export route, connecting the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
A Guards statement named the vessel as Athen Nova, an apparent reference to Honduras-flagged asphalt tanker Athe Nova, which it said was acting “in unison with America.”
The statement did not explicitly state that the ship was hit by Iranian drones, although the incident was mentioned in a line of a report about the Guards’ military operations.
Reuters was not immediately able to contact the Athe Nova’s registered owner.
(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Menna Akaa El-Din in Cairo, Renee Malthezou in Athens and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Alex Richardson and Matthew Lewis)