Iranian Military: "During Training, Friendly Warship Hit by Missile from Another Friendly Warship... 19 Dead"

Iranian Military "Accident Due to Mistake... Investigation Underway"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The Iranian Navy announced on the 11th (local time) around midnight that one of its frigates training near the northern Arabian Sea, close to the Gulf of Oman, was hit by a missile from another warship, resulting in 19 crew members dead and 15 injured.

The Iranian Navy explained that immediately after installing a mock target on the supply support frigate Konarak, their own frigate Jamaran fired one Noor anti-ship missile at the target.

The Iranian Navy stated, "The distance between the mock target and the Konarak was not sufficiently far," and explained that the missile struck the nearby Konarak.

Regarding reports that the Konarak, hit by the missile, sank, the Iranian military added, "This is not true, and it is currently being towed to the shore."

Iranian state media reported on the same day that the announcement was "an accident caused by a mistake" and that "the navy is investigating the circumstances of the accident."

The Konarak is an old Dutch-made warship deployed to the Iranian Navy in 1988, with a length of 47 meters. The Jamaran is a frigate first domestically produced by Iran 11 years ago.

The accident occurred near Jask Port in the Gulf of Oman, 1,270 km southeast of Tehran. The Iranian Navy has regularly conducted training in the sensitive waters of the Gulf of Oman, which connects to the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier, on January 8, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard mistakenly shot down a Ukraine International Airlines passenger plane departing from Tehran International Airport with an air defense missile, mistaking it for a U.S. missile, killing all 176 passengers on board.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.