Iranian warship hit by accidental fire in the Gulf of Oman

Text by: RFI Follow

At least 19 people were killed and 15 injured after an Iranian warship was accidentally "hit by a missile" during an exercise in the Gulf of Oman.

Publicity

“  Sunday afternoon, during an exercise carried out by a number of navy vessels in the waters of Jask and Chabahar (port in the south of Iran, note), the light support vessel Konarak had an accident  "Said the Iranian army on Monday in a statement posted on its website, reporting 19 sailors killed and 15 others injured.

The logistics support ship was hit "  after moving an exercise target to its destination, without creating enough distance between it and the target,  " Iranian television said. 

Tensions in the Gulf

This accident occurred in the context of high tensions with the United States in the waters of the Gulf.

In January, Iran shot down a Ukrainian Boeing to Kiev “  by mistake  ” shortly after takeoff from Tehran, killing the 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Canadians. Armed forces recognized the tragedy, saying it happened while Iran's air defenses were on high alert after the Islamic Republic fired missiles at an American base in Iraq to avenge the powerful general Iranian Qassem Soleimani , killed in an American drone strike in Baghdad on January 3.

(with AFP)

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• Iran
• Defense

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