Sailors killed after Iran missile 'accidentally' strikes own ship
Iranian army says missile hit support ship in 'friendly-fire' incident, killing at least 19 sailors and wounding 15.
A handout photo from the Iranian Army office in December 2019 shows warships during joint Iran-Russia-China naval drills in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman [File: Iranian Army office/AFP]
At least 19 sailors have been killed and 15 wounded after an Iranian missile fired during a training exercise in the Gulf of Oman struck a support vessel near its target, Iran's army said.
The friendly fire incident happened on Sunday near the port of Jask, about 1,270 kilometres (790 miles) southeast of Tehran on the Gulf of Oman, a statement on the army's website said on Monday.
"On Sunday afternoon, during an exercise by a number of the navy's vessels in Jask and Chabahar waters, the Konarak light support vessel had an accident," said a statement on the army's website.
"The number of this accident's martyrs is 19 and 15 have also been injured," it added, saying the vessel had been towed ashore.
The missile struck the Konarak, a Hendijan-class support ship, which was taking part in the exercise.
State television described the incident as an accident, saying the Konarak, a Hendijan-class support ship which was struck by the missile, had been putting targets out in the water for other ships to fire on and had strayed too close to a target.
"Iran's Moudge-class frigate Jamaran accidentally hit the Konarak ship with a missile during the exercise," Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Iranian media said the Konarak had been overhauled in 2018 and was able to launch sea missiles.
The Dutch-made, 47-metre (155-foot) vessel had been in service since 1988.
It was not immediately clear how many crew members were on board the warship at the time of the accident.
Turkey's Anadolu Agency said at least 20 people had been killed and that there were as many as 40 crew members on board the Konarak.
Anadolu said the incident had been blamed on "human error", citing sources in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Iran regularly holds exercises in the Gulf of Oman, which is closed to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Gulf, through which 20 percent of the world's oil passes.
Iranian media rarely report on mishaps during its exercises, highlighting the severity of the incident.
US-Iran tensions
The incident also comes at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the United States.
Relations between the two foes have deteriorated sharply since 2018 when US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from a 2015 nuclear deal between key powers and Iran.
Washington then reimposed sanctions on Tehran, crippling its economy.
The animosity deepened in early January when the US assassinated top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
Iran retaliated on January 8 by firing missiles at bases in Iraq where US troops were stationed.
On the same day, Iran's armed forces shot down a Kyiv-bound Boeing 737 passenger jet over Tehran, killing all 176 people on board.
The military admitted to the catastrophic error, saying it came as Iran's air defences were on high alert after firing the barrage of missiles at US targets in Iraq.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
Iran says 19 dead in Gulf of Oman friendly-fire incident
The Konarak was helping set targets for warships when it was struck, according to state TV
Associated Press
Mon 11 May 2020 08.22 BST First published on Mon 11 May 2020 06.07 BST
An Iranian missile fired during a training exercise in the Gulf of Oman struck a support vessel near its target, killing at least 19, amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the US.
The friendly fire incident happened on Sunday near the port of Jask, 790 mile south-east of Tehran, in the Gulf of Oman. Iran’s army said 19 people died and 15 were injured.
The missile struck the Konarak, a Hendijan-class support ship, taking part in the exercise.
State television described the missile strike as an accident, saying the Konarak had remained too close to the target. The Konarak had been putting targets out in the water for other ships to fire upon, it said.
Iranian media said the Konarak had been overhauled in 2018 and was able to launch sea and anti-ship missiles. The Dutch-made, 47-metre (155-foot) vessel was in service since 1988 and had capacity of 40 tons. It usually carries a crew of 20 sailors.
Iran regularly holds exercises in the region, which is closed to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the worlds oil passes. The US Navy’s 5th Fleet, which monitors the region, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iranian media rarely report on mishaps during its exercises, signalling the severity of the incident. It comes
amid months of heightened tensions between Iran and the US since President Donald Trump
unilaterally withdrew from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 and imposed crushing sanctions on the country.
In January,
Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane by mistake shortly after it had taken off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board.