Iranian Revolutionary Guard Fires at Oil Tanker in Strait of Hormuz... No Casualties Reported

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High-speed boats linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked an oil tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

On April 18 (local time), the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) announced that it had received a report that two high-speed boats connected to the Revolutionary Guard attacked an oil tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz near Oman.

According to major foreign news outlets, UKMTO cited the oil tanker’s captain, stating that the two high-speed boats opened fire without warning via radio communication at a location 20 nautical miles (about 37 km) northeast of Oman. Both the vessel and the crew are reported to be safe. In addition, several merchant ships reportedly received radio messages from the Iranian navy stating, "The Strait of Hormuz is closed again. Vessels cannot pass through."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had announced the previous day that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would be temporarily lifted, but on this day, he stated that passage would again be restricted, citing the U.S. maritime blockade as the reason.

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