The Iranian ship - IRIB TV / AFP

An Iranian warship was accidentally "hit by a missile" on Sunday during a naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman, killing 19 and injuring 15, Iranian state television reported on Monday.

"Sunday afternoon, during an exercise by a number of navy ships in the waters of Jask and Chabahar (southeast), the light support ship Konarak had an accident," said the army in a press release, which announced a toll of "19 martyrs and 15 wounded".

A "friendly shot"

For its part, the Tasnim news agency indicated in a tweet in English that Konarak had sunk. "Konarak was 'sunk by friendly fire' after the Moudge-class frigate 'Jamaran' accidentally hit it with a missile during a live fire exercise in the Jask region in the waters of #PersianGulf on 10 May, ”wrote Tasnim.

Tasnim did not mention this detail on his page in Persian, however. Made in the Netherlands, Konarak was bought by Iran before the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Weighing 447 tonnes and a length of 47 meters, the ship is equipped with four cruise missiles installed on board, according to the State television which did not specify the number of crews on board at the time of the accident.

Tensions still very high

Tensions between Tehran and Washington, enemies of more than 40 years, have remained high since the United States unilaterally denounced in 2018 the Iranian international nuclear agreement (concluded in 2015) before reimposing heavy economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

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.

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