Tehran: Two vessels have sunk near the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by projectiles in separate incidents, maritime officials said on Wednesday, as attacks around the strategic waterway intensify amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States.
The Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride sank while transiting the strait after sustaining damage and a fire on board, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). All 21 crew members were safely evacuated, and no injuries were reported, the authority said. The vessel has a capacity of 2,824 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).
In a separate incident, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged dry bulk carrier Cape Dao sank near the strait, weeks after being struck by a projectile on September 23, data from the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization showed. One crew member was killed, while the remaining crew members were evacuated following the strike, maritime sources said. The vessel’s UAE-based manager, Peonies Shipmanagement FZE, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Attacks around the waterway have surged over the past 10 days, with Iran saying it is stepping up strikes in response to the US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions introduced last month.
Meanwhile, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday (local time) that Washington would do “what is necessary” to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, as anti-war protesters repeatedly interrupted his appearance at an annual meeting of the Association of the US Army in Washington, DC.
“The protesters spouting off slogans – Iran really will never have a nuclear weapon,” Hegseth said during the panel discussion, according to Al Jazeera.
The New York Post reported that protesters interrupted Hegseth at least five times during the first half-hour of the discussion, calling him a “war criminal”, a “coward” and a “Nazi” in demonstrations against the Iran war and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“You’re not a warrior, you’re a coward!” one demonstrator shouted. “Children in Gaza are starving! He is a war criminal!”
“She thinks highly of me,” Hegseth responded after one outburst, drawing brief applause from the audience. As the interruptions continued, he remarked, “Appears we have a bit of a tactic.”
Security personnel forcibly removed the demonstrators. At least one woman was carried out of the room by multiple officers while continuing to shout, the New York Post reported.
The Association of the US Army said the right to protest was fundamental but argued that the disruptions violated the code of conduct attendees had agreed to follow.
“The First Amendment right to protest is fundamental. However, everyone who registers to attend the Annual Meeting and enters the convention centre does so after agreeing to abide by a code of conduct, so the protestors’ outbursts were certainly not appropriate during today’s forum,” the organisation said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
(With agency inputs from Reuters and ANI)
