A cargo ship was struck in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving two casualties, even as the United States and Iran held talks on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Tensions remain high in the waterway.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on the 23rd local time that it had received a report of a cargo ship being hit in the Strait of Hormuz. According to UKMTO, the vessel's security officer reported that the ship had been struck by an unidentified projectile.
The ship caught fire in the strike and has lost control and is drifting, according to the report. All crew members evacuated the vessel, but two casualties occurred during the process. No environmental damage such as marine pollution has been reported so far.
UKMTO urged vessels transiting nearby waters to exercise particular caution and recommended reporting any suspicious activity to the organization immediately.
Iran's state-run IRNA reported that explosions were also heard early that morning near Iran's Qeshm Island, a strategic point in the Strait of Hormuz. IRNA said the blasts appeared to have originated from the sea and that no damage had been reported on Qeshm Island. Located in the northern waters of the Strait of Hormuz, Qeshm Island serves as a base for Iran's efforts to control the waterway.
Reuters reported that Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei conveyed Iran's conditions for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to the United States that day in New York, through mediator Qatar. The conditions reportedly include an end to the war on all fronts, a halt to acts of aggression, an end to the U.S. Navy's naval blockade of Iran, and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
