Tuesday, May 5, 2026 - Iran has accused the United States of killing five civilians in the Strait of Hormuz, saying its forces attacked passenger vessels in the waterway rather than boats belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as claimed.
The claim on Tuesday contradicted a statement by US Admiral
Brad Cooper, who said Central Command forces had sunk six IRGC vessels that had
attempted to interfere with a US mission to escort stranded ships out
of the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump later put the number at seven
boats.
The US operation, dubbed “Project Freedom”, has shaken a
fragile ceasefire reached between Iran and the US on April 8 and renewed fears
of a return to war.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB quoted an unnamed Iranian
military commander as saying that Tehran launched an investigation following
the US claim of attacks on IRGC vessels.
It said while none of the IRGC vessels was hit, the
investigation found that US forces had “attacked two small boats carrying
people on their way from Khasab on the coast of Oman to the coast of Iran on
Monday”.
The attacks destroyed the boats and killed five civilian
passengers, the commander said. The US “must be held accountable for their
crime”, the commander added.
There was no immediate comment from the US military.
The violence comes as Trump seeks to reopen the Strait of
Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blockaded following the US and Israeli
attacks on the country on February 28.
The closure of the vital maritime corridor – through which
roughly one-fifth of the world’s energy supplies flow – has sent oil and
fertiliser prices surging around the world and prompted fears of a global
recession and food emergency.
Iran is now insisting on maintaining control over the Strait
of Hormuz and collecting transit fees as reparations for the destruction caused
by the US and Israel.
The Iranian military on Monday warned commercial vessels
they would “jeopardise their safety” if they attempted to cross the waterway
without permission. The military also warned US forces would face attacks if
they approached or entered the chokepoint.
Amid the tensions, the United Arab Emirates said Iran launched a
drone attack on one of its oil tankers that attempted to transit the strait and
said Iranian forces launched 15 ballistic missiles and four drones at its
territory.
UAE authorities said the attacks set off a large fire at a
major oil refinery in the eastern emirate of Fujairah and wounded three Indian
nationals.
A South Korean vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, the HMM Namu,
also reported an attack, saying an explosion had caused a fire in its engine
room.
Nonetheless, the US military said two US-flagged ships made
it through the strait on Monday with the support of navy guided-missile
destroyers.
The IRGC denied the claim as “baseless and completely
false”, but the global shipping firm Maersk said the US-flagged Alliance
Fairfax exited the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz accompanied by the US military
on Monday.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the events in
Hormuz on Monday “make clear there’s no military solution to a political
crisis”.
He said in a post on X that peace talks with the US were
“making progress” with Pakistan’s mediation and that Washington “should be wary
of being dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers”.
“So should the UAE,” he added. “Project Freedom is Project
Deadlock.”
Meanwhile, Trump has renewed his threats against
Iran.
He told Fox News Iran would be “blown off the face of the
Earth” if they attacked US vessels carrying out Project Freedom.
“We have more weapons and ammunition at a much higher grade
than we had before,” he said.
“We have the best equipment. We have stuff all over the
world. We have these bases worldwide. They’re all stocked up with equipment. We
can use all of that stuff, and we will, if we need it.”
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