The US military offers condolences to Iran over a friendly fire incident in the Islamic Republic that killed 19 of its troops, identifying the weapon used in the incident as an anti-ship cruise missile.
Iranian authorities on Monday said that a missile struck the Iranian navy vessel Konarak near the port of Jask, some 1,270 kilometers (790 miles) southeast of Tehran in the Gulf of Oman. Authorities said the Konarak was too close to a target and was accidentally hit Sunday in an incident that also wounded 15 troops.
In a statement, Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for the US Central Command, says the force offers “our sincere condolences to the Iranian people for the tragic loss of life.”
In this photo provided Friday, Dec. 27, 2019, by the Iranian Army, a warship sails while approaching Iran’s southeastern port city of Chahbahar, in the Gulf of Oman (Iranian Army via AP)
However, Urban also criticizes the training for taking place so close to the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil passes.
“We are troubled that this mishap occurred in such close proximity to a high-traffic international shipping lane and at a time when most of the region’s focus is on the fight against COVID-19,” he says.
— AP
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