Reported by Al Jazeera
US strikes have continued on Iran after more ships in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked.
Tehran, Iran – The United States has bombed Iran after vessels were targeted in the Strait of Hormuz, as mediators continue to try to prevent large-scale fighting between the two countries.
Two projectiles hit Iran’s Qeshm on Friday night, the latest in a series of air strikes on the southern island over recent weeks targeting Iranian air defences and launchers. President Donald Trump called them “minor strikes” , amid increasing concerns of a potential escalation in the war between the countries.
More from the original report
Iran’s army said in the early hours of Saturday that it destroyed a US-made MQ-9 drone using an unnamed new system. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) separately claimed on Friday that its air defences intercepted an MQ-1, reportedly the 16th aircraft of this model to be destroyed since the start of the war.
At least 11 ships were attacked in and around the Strait of Hormuz over the week ending on November 6, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which said three of them sank. The Western military intelligence agency has recorded 88 projectile strikes since hostilities resumed in early July, although it has cautioned that most attacks are going unreported .
UKMTO’s weekly report also identified 170 outbound and 155 inbound transits in the Strait of Hormuz, approximately 65 percent below pre-conflict levels. Most of the vessels that travel with their transponders switched on are using the Iranian route to the north. But many ships are still attempting the southern route near Oman with their tracking systems offline to shuttle oil out of the waterway .
Iranian armed forces also claim that, in addition to being hit with missiles and drones, tankers and commercial vessels using “unauthorised” routes also run the risk of being hit by naval mines.
The Iranian military’s naval force said on Saturday that a tanker with its transponder turned off caught fire in the eastern area of the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a mine. Washington says the mines have been cleared.
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