Iran says it fired missiles at US military assets after tanker attack

A Chinese-owned oil products tanker was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, Chinese media outlet Caixin reported.

The attack was the first reported incident involving a Chinese oil tanker, Caixin reported, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

The unnamed vessel’s deck caught fire and the ship was marked “CHINA OWNER & CREW,” the report said.

Maritime security sources said the damaged vessel was believed to be the Marshall Islands-flagged oil products and chemical tanker JV Innovation, which had reported a fire on its deck to nearby ships on Monday.

The incident took place off the UAE coast close to Mina Saqr, the report said.

"Some sources say the hostile action against Bahman pier on Iran’s Qeshm Island was carried out by the United Arab Emirates, acting as a tool of the Israeli regime," IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency said on Thursday, adding that the matter had not been officially confirmed.

“If the issue is confirmed, the UAE will pay the price for its hostile action,” the report said.

Tasnim also said some sources linked several explosions heard in Bandar Abbas to air defenses confronting two drones.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected a draft UN Security Council resolution calling on Iran to cease attacks, mining and tolling in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a letter to the UN secretary-general and leaders of member states Araghchi described the draft resolution as “one-sided” and said its narratives were “selective and biased.”

He said traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would return to normal only if there is a permanent end to the war and the lifting of the blockade and sanctions against Iran.

Araghchi said current restrictions in the strait stem from what he described as the “aggressive, unjustified and illegal war” by the United States and Israel against Iran.

IRGC-affiliated Fars News reported that residents of Bandar Abbas heard several sounds resembling explosions near the southern Iranian port city, adding that the source and exact location remained unclear.

Local outlet Eskan News reported six explosions in Sirik in Hormozgan province, at intervals of 40 seconds from one another. Vahid Online also reported explosions heard Thursday night in Qeshm, Minab, Bandar Abbas, Bandar Khamir, and Sirik.

Iran's state TV said an explosion was heard at Bahman passenger pier on Qeshm Island in southern Iran.

"Some sources say some of the sounds were related to operations by the IRGC Navy to warn certain vessels about unauthorized passage through the Strait of Hormuz. But efforts to determine the exact and full source of the sounds are still ongoing," IRGC-affiliated Tasnim reports.

Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz and no oil can pass through the waterway without Tehran’s permission, spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Ebrahim Rezaei said on Thursday.

“They cannot pass even one liter of oil through the Strait of Hormuz without the permission of the Islamic Republic,” Rezaei said.

“If the Americans see the slightest concession or retreat from our side, they will definitely become more emboldened,” he added.