Iran claims drone strikes on multiple US vessels

Iranian forces launched drone strikes on Sunday targeting multiple American vessels in response to US forces firing on and intercepting an Iranian ship, News.Az reports, citing Tasnim news agency.

"After US forces boarded the container ship TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, Iranian drones were subsequently launched against American vessels," the report said.

The report did not specify whether the targets were military or commercial ships.

Iran had earlier confirmed that US forces had seized the Iranian vessel and issued a warning that it would retaliate “soon” following the action, which Tehran described as a violation of a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire that has largely been in effect since its announcement on April 7.

The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters stated that US forces had targeted the vessel, disabled its navigation system, and boarded it, describing the incident as a breach of the ceasefire agreement.

According to ship tracking data, the TOUSKA departed from Port Klang in Malaysia on April 12.

Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said that US forces had opened fire on the vessel before boarding it.

The incident was first announced by US President Donald Trump on Sunday and was later confirmed by US Central Command (CENTCOM). CENTCOM stated that the USS Spruance intercepted the Iranian-flagged cargo ship, which it said attempted to breach a US naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev