Iran accuses U.S. of targeting tanker near Kharg Island as violence reported across region

Iran on Saturday accused the United States of attacking an Iranian tanker near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. The United States did not immediately comment, but a new strike could raise the risk of another round of Iranian attacks on U.S. allies and interests in the region.

Iranian state television said four U.S. missiles struck a tanker about six miles, or 10 kilometres, from Kharg Island. It said the crew was being evacuated and there were no casualties. The report offered no evidence and included no comment from Iranian officials. U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kharg Island is Iran’s main oil-export terminal and an important hub for crude shipments. It has been repeatedly targeted during the U.S.-Iran conflict, including U.S. strikes on military sites there in March. The report came days after the United States resumed strikes on Iranian targets following a monthlong pause, as fighting around the Strait of Hormuz intensified.

In Yemen, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels said airstrikes by government forces killed at least three people Friday in the western and southwestern provinces of Hodeida and Taiz. Yemen’s military said it carried out more than 15 airstrikes against the Houthis along front lines in those provinces. Houthi authorities said a father and daughter were killed when their house was attacked in the southern Jarahi district of Hodeida, while a shelling attack in Taiz killed one man and wounded another.

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes killed three people and wounded nearly two dozen in southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley. Israel’s military said it hit Hezbollah positions late Friday after the group launched a drone toward Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. It said the drone was intercepted and no Israeli soldiers were hurt.

Lebanon and Israel signed a U.S.-mediated framework agreement in June under which Israeli forces were to withdraw from occupied areas of southern Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, but implementation has made little progress. The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel days after Israel and the United States launched war on Iran on Feb. 28. Israel invaded Lebanon and has since occupied a large area of the country’s south. Hezbollah has strongly opposed direct Lebanon-Israel talks.