Iran’s IRGC says it hit cargo ship MSC Sariska in retaliatory operation

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy says it has struck the cargo ship MSC Sariska, which it described as being affiliated with the United States and Israel, with a cruise missile in a reciprocal operation following a US attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Sea of Oman.

The IRGC Navy’s public relations department said on Tuesday that the strike was a direct response to what it called an “aggressive and treacherous attack” by the US military on the Iranian bulk carrier Lian Star, News.Az reports, citing Iran’s English-language Press TV.

“In response to the aggressive attack by the terrorist and child-killing US army on the Iranian vessel Lian Star in the Sea of Oman, the IRGC Navy conducted a reciprocal operation and struck the MSC Sariska with a cruise missile,” the statement said, as carried by Sepah News.

The MSC Sariska, a Panamanian-flagged vessel, was reportedly targeted near Iraqi waters and sustained a major explosion.

The IRGC Navy warned that any further aggression by the US military in the region would be met with a decisive response.

According to Press TV, a US aircraft fired an AGM-114 Hellfire missile at the engine room of the Lian Star on Friday, disabling the vessel.

The Lian Star is a commercial ship that was operating in international waters when it was targeted.

News.Az