Iran’s parliament speaker warns US over attacks on Iranian islands

The Revolutionary Guards said one of its naval units struck a tanker in the Persian Gulf after it ignored warnings.

The Guards said the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Safesea Vishnu was hit in the northern Persian Gulf after failing to comply with orders.

“The vessel was targeted after it ignored warnings and alerts from the IRGC navy,” the Guards said in a statement carried by state media.

Separately, port officials said fuel tankers Safesea Vishnu and the Maltese-flagged Zefyros were attacked in the Persian Gulf near Iraq, prompting Iraq’s oil ports to halt operations. One port security official said the body of a foreign crew member was recovered from the water.

Thailand denounced an attack on a Thai-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz and summoned Iran’s ambassador as efforts continued on Thursday to rescue three crew members feared trapped aboard the damaged ship.

The bulk carrier Mayuree Naree was hit on Wednesday by Iranian projectiles while transiting the strategic waterway without cargo.

Of the 23 crew members on board, 20 were rescued by the Omani navy after abandoning the vessel in a lifeboat.

Thai authorities said the three missing crew members were believed to have been working in the engine compartment when the ship was struck.

Esmail Dehghan, a commander in the aerospace force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes early on Tuesday, according to state media.

He was killed in a strike on a residential house in the city of Arak, the reports said.

His funeral was held in Arak on Wednesday.

Akbar Ghaffari, deputy intelligence minister of Iran, was killed the joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran, the Iranian news agency ILNA reported.

Akbar Ghaffari had previously served as political-security deputy governor of East Azerbaijan province, the report said.

His funeral was held in the city of Tabriz.

An Italian military base in Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdistan region was struck by a missile overnight, but no injuries were reported, Italy’s defense ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry said all Italian personnel were safe and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto was in constant contact with senior military commanders following the incident.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also said in a post on X that Italian troops had taken shelter in a bunker and were safe.

Italy has around 300 troops in Erbil, where they are training Kurdish security forces, according to the defense ministry.