Iran friendly fire missile strike in drill kills 19 sailors, injures 15

TEHERAN－An Iranian missile fired during a training exercise in the Gulf of Oman struck a support vessel near its target, killing 19 sailors and wounding 15, Iran's state media reported on Monday.

The incident involving the Konarak vessel occurred on Sunday afternoon near Bandar-e Jask, some 1,270 kilometers southeast of Teheran, state television said on its website.

"The vessel was hit after moving a practice target to its destination and not creating enough distance between itself and the target," said the channel.

The Tasnim news agency said in an English-language tweet that the Konarak was hit by the missile fired by another Iranian warship.

The vessel had been hit by "'friendly fire' after the Moudgeclass frigate Jamaran accidentally shot (it) with a missile during live firing exercise in Jask area of #PersianGulf waters".

The injured were hospitalized in Sistan and Baluchistan, said Mohammad-Mehran Aminifard, head of the province's medical university.

Two of the sailors were in intensive care, he told the semi-official news agency ISNA.

Iran's army chief and foreign minister offered their condolences to the sailors' families in separate statements.

Fars news agency quoted an unidentified military official as denying some Iranian media reports that the Konarak had sunk.

Technical investigations

The vessel had been towed ashore for "technical investigations", it said in a statement, calling on people to "avoid speculation" until further information is released.

A photograph released by the Iranian army showed burn marks and some damage to the vessel, though the military did not immediately offer detailed photographs of the site of the missile's impact.

Iranian media said the Konarak had been overhauled in 2018 and was able to launch sea and anti-ship missiles. The Dutch-made, 47-meter vessel was in service since 1988 and had capacity of 40 tons. It usually carries a crew of 20 sailors.

It was not immediately clear how many crew members had been on board at the time of the accident.

Iran regularly holds exercises in the region, which is close to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 percent of the world's oil passes.

This incident comes amid months of heightened tensions between Iran and the United States since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from Teheran's nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 and imposed crushing sanctions on the country.

It also marks the second serious incident involving a misfired missile by Iran's armed forces this year. In January, after attacking US forces in Iraq with ballistic missiles, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 people on board.

Agencies - Xinhua