The United States has attacked two civilian cargo boats heading from the Omani coast to the Iranian shoreline which claimed lives of at least five people on board, Tasnim News agency reported, citing a military source.
The source rejected US claims that its forces had targeted speedboats belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Following the false claim by the US military that it had targeted 6 Iranian speedboats, since none of the IRGC combat vessels had been hit, an investigation was conducted into the nature of the claim from local sources,” the source said.
“It was determined that the American aggressive forces had attacked 2 small boats carrying people‘s cargo that were moving from Khasab on the coasts of Oman towards the coasts of Iran,” the source added.
The source noted that 5 civilian passengers were martyred in the US attack, adding, “The Americans must definitely be held accountable for their crime in this regard.”
This military source emphasized that this hasty measure by the enemy is due to deep fear and nightmare of the American military from the IRGC speedboat operations.
The remarks by the military source came after US President Donald Trump says the US has struck Iranian “fast boats” in the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command says helicopters were used to destroy the Iranian small vessels.
The reported operation is part of Trump’s so called “Project Freedom”, which Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has described it as “Project Deadlock”.
