- Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz
- The attack occurred around 7:55 AM without prior warning to the vessel
- No casualties or environmental damage resulted from the incident
Iran has opened fire at a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz, damaging the vessel and further raising the stakes as planned ceasefire talks in Pakistan failed to materialise. The move came hours after US President Donald Trump extended the US-Iran ceasefire 'indefinitely' while awaiting a 'unified proposal' from Tehran.
Iran has not yet responded to Trump's announcement on ceasefire extension, and both countries have warned they are prepared to resume fighting if a deal isn't reached.
Amid the uncertainty, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said that Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked the container ship in the viral waterways around 7:55 AM.
ALSO READ: Trump's Big Credit To Asim Munir, Shehbaz Sharif For Iran Ceasefire. How Pakistan Gains From It
The UKMTO said the Iranian gunboat did not warn the ship before it started firing at it. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident, and there was no environmental impact from the attack either.
The attack comes after the US military seized an Iranian container ship after shooting it this past weekend and after it boarded an oil tanker associated with Iran's oil trade in the Indian Ocean.
ALSO READ: Nerve Agents, Kill Plan: What US Nuke Scientist Told Undercover Journalist
What Iran Said
Iran's semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both believed to be close to the Guard, confirmed the attack.
Fars went further and claimed Iran was "lawfully enforcing" its control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 per cent of the world's crude oil and natural gas pass in peacetime.
The strait is considered an international waterway for the world's shippers despite being in the territorial waters of both Iran and Oman.
ALSO READ: "Ploy To Buy Time For Surprise Attack": Iran On Trump's Ceasefire Extension
US' Hormuz Blockade
Even as the US extended the ceasefire to allow Tehran more time for peace talks, Trump said he has "directed our military to continue the blockade" at Hormuz, already under Iran's chokehold.
Amid military restrictions, shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz remained largely stalled, with minimal vessel movement reported in the past 24 hours, according to reports.
Trump has, meanwhile, said Iran was "collapsing financially" over the closure of the vital strait.
"Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately," he wrote on Truth Social, adding that the Islamic republic was "starving for cash".
Trump posted earlier that Tehran said it supported the closure of the strait to "save face" under the US blockade of Iranian ports.
