Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran

Tehran, Sep 13: One person was killed and three others injured after an Iranian commercial vessel was struck near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday morning, Iranian authorities said.

Qeshm city governor Amir Teymouri said the merchant vessel was hit around 5 am local time off the coasts of Hengam and Qeshm islands. He did not specify the source of the strike, state television reported.

Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a vessel had been hit by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, but provided no further details.

There was no immediate statement from the US military regarding the incident.

Several explosions were also reported overnight around Qeshm, the largest island in the Strait of Hormuz, amid escalating tensions over the strategically important waterway.

The incident comes a day before Iran is scheduled to hold talks with Gulf states in Oman over the future of the maritime route, which is critical for global oil and gas shipments.

Control of the Strait of Hormuz has become a major flashpoint in the six-month conflict between Iran and the United States. Iran has restricted passage through the waterway following US and Israeli attacks that began on February 28, citing security and sovereignty concerns.

Tehran now requires vessels to obtain authorisation to transit the strait and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees. Vessels that do not comply have reportedly faced attacks, while the United States has carried out intermittent strikes along the Iranian coast in an effort to challenge Tehran's control of the waterway.

The latest incident also comes amid US President Donald Trump's repeated claims that the war in Iran is nearing an end.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Ireland on Saturday, Trump said he expected the conflict to end “very soon” and suggested it could conclude shortly after the November US midterm elections.

He also predicted that oil prices would “come tumbling down” once the fighting ends.

On September 10, Trump had similarly claimed that Iran was attempting to influence American voters by waiting for what he described as a more lenient administration in Washington.

“I think the war will end immediately after the election,” Trump had said, alleging that Tehran wanted a “nice, weak group of people” in Washington that would leave Iran alone and allow it to pursue nuclear weapons.