Iran claims attack on supertanker in Strait of Hormuz

On Sunday, Iranian media had already distributed a video that supposedly showed an explosion on a supertanker. According to reports, the ship hit a sea mine in the strait of the Persian Gulf. According to reports, mines with rockets are being fired directly in front of the tankers.

Iran's armed forces have intensified their attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days. They usually attack tankers and freighters that are on a southern route near the Omani coast. The US Navy has been accompanying civilian merchant ships there for several months in order to enable trade in oil and liquid gas again.

Iran considers the route “illegal” and demands passage along the Iranian coast. Since the war began at the end of February, the Islamic Republic has largely blocked traffic with threats and attacks on ships. The US military has also repeatedly attacked civilian Iranian ships. The Strait of Hormuz, which is only 35 to 40 kilometers wide at its narrowest point, has become the central point of conflict between Iran and the USA.

The number of US soldiers who died in connection with the Iran war has risen to 21, according to the Pentagon. However, the two new deaths were not soldiers who died in combat, a government official told the German Press Agency. One person died by suicide, another without enemy influence. Details about the circumstances of the deaths were initially not known.

According to leading Democrats in the US House of Representatives, the subsequent recording is a correction that came about under pressure from Congress. "There is no excuse for a mistake of this magnitude," said a statement from the Armed Services Committee's ranking Democrat, Adam Smith, and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan.

They particularly criticized Defense Minister Pete Hegseth. "The fact that Minister Hegseth failed to take the problem into his own hands immediately is also a serious blow to the men and women who risk their lives in the service of our country."

As the Washington Post reports, the two US military men died in March and September. According to the Pentagon, a total of 865 US soldiers were wounded in the war.