A cargo ship was fired upon off the coast of Qatar
10 May 15:06
Early Sunday morning, May 10, a cargo ship came under fire 23 nautical miles northeast of Doha, the capital of Qatar, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). A small fire broke out on board but was quickly extinguished. There were no casualties or environmental damage, reports "Komersant Ukrainian", citing DW.
The incident occurred after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened the previous day to strike American targets in the region and enemy vessels.
“Any attack on Iranian oil tankers and merchant ships will result in a harsh retaliatory strike against one of the American targets in the region, as well as against enemy vessels,” Iranian state media quoted the IRGC as saying.
Previous U.S. strikes
On May 8, U.S. warplanes struck two Iranian cargo ships in the Gulf of Oman with “high-precision munitions,” according to U.S. Central Command (Centcom), which is responsible for operations in the Persian Gulf region. The night before, clashes had already taken place in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of global oil trade passes, was effectively blocked by Iranian forces in late February—with the start of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. This led to a sharp rise in global energy prices.
A ceasefire has been in effect in the region since April, but rising tensions in and around the Strait of Hormuz are putting the truce at risk.
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