A ship has been struck in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one person and injuring three, local Iranian authorities said, as Tehran and Washington clash over the strategic waterway.
Qeshm city governor Amir Teymouri said that a "merchant vessel" was struck around 5am local time (1.
30am Irish time) off the coasts of Hengam and Qeshm islands.
One person was killed and three others were injured, the governor said, according to state TV, without specifying the origin of the strike.
Several explosions were reported overnight around Qeshm, the largest island in the Hormuz strait.
The deadly incident comes a day before a meeting between Iran and Gulf states in Oman, which also borders the strait, over the blockaded route crucial for global oil and gas trade.
Control over the strait has become a major flashpoint in the conflict between Iran and the United States in their six-month war.
In retaliation for attacks by the United States and Israel that started the war on 28 February, Iran has blocked the waterway, a passage that was previously free and unobstructed before the conflict began.
Iran now requires vessels to obtain authorisation to pass through the strait, citing security and sovereignty concerns, and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees.
Vessels that fail to comply are frequently targeted by Iranian strikes, while the United States sporadically bombs the Iranian coast in a bid to challenge Tehran's control of the strait.
Maritime trackers received new reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz today, adding to concerns about Iran-related threats to global energy supplies after Saudi Arabia shut down a vital oil pipeline.
The British navy-affiliated agency UKMTO said it had a report of a projectile hitting a vessel as it moved through the strait. The amount of damage and the status of the crew were unknown as of early today, the agency said.
UKMTO's report came the day after Saudi Arabia said it had temporarily closed its East-West pipeline as a precaution aftera drone attack that both Baghdad and Riyadh said had originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate.
Ongoing attacks in the widening Middle East war could sendenergy prices even higher after a week that saw the cost of Brent crude surge back above $100 a barrel.
The 1,200-km East-West pipeline running across the Arabian Peninsula has served as the main route out for global supplies of Middle East oil for the past six months while the Strait of Hormuz has been largely shut by war.
It has been moving four million to five million barrels per day, amounting to 4% to 5% of global supply, sparing Saudi Arabia the brunt of the disruption that has crippled other Gulf oil and gas exporters.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strikes on the pipeline.
Satellite images showed black smoke rising from an area of the pipeline south of Medina.
The attack resulted in some injuries and damage that was being assessed, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said without detailing the impact on exports.
US President Donald Trump, visiting Ireland to attend a golf tournament at one of his resorts, said Iran was probably to blame.
Yesterday, Saudi Civil Defence said in a statement that a projectile fired by the Houthis had injured two people in Jazan region, and damaged several buildings, including a mosque.
Saudi leader asks for US military help
Oil prices shot up over the past week and the retail price of diesel in the United States surged past a record $6 (€5) a gallon as the United States and Iran both fired on tankers and the Houthis in Yemen rapidly advanced along the Red Sea, potentially giving Tehran leverage over both of the region's main oil-shipping corridors.
Washington now faces a dilemma over whether to help the Saudis fight the Houthis, risking further expansion of the war.
Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, phoned Mr Trump on Thursday and asked for US military help fighting the Houthis, three sources told Reuters.
They said the prince was told that Washington would not intervene directly for now but would help with intelligence.
Mr Trump confirmed yesterday that he had spoken to the crown prince, and said the Houthis had also phoned his administration and asked Washington not to become directly involved in the conflict.
Four Yemeni government sources told Reuters that the Houthis had seized the strategic island of Perim on Friday in the middle of the Bab el-Mandeb strait - the "Gate of Tears" at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
The Houthis have been attacking Saudi ships in the area since declaring a blockade in July and targeting its other oil facilities.
Iranian official plays down Oman meeting
There have been no talks between the United States and Iranto end the conflict since a June agreement that collapsed within weeks.
In a post on X yesterday, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said: "As long as the American side does not accept all of Iran's conditions, dialogue and negotiation are of no use.
"
Iran's Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that Iran would be attending a meeting with Gulf Arab states in Oman tomorrow, at which the future of the Strait of Hormuz would be discussed.
But a senior Iranian official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity yesterday, played down the chances of a breakthrough, saying the meeting, called at Oman's initiative, was intended to discuss issues including the strait but was not expected to yield a signed agreement.
An agreement on routes through the strait between Iran and Oman will be presented at the meeting tomorrow, but the strait will not reopen unless seven conditions conveyed by Iran to the US are met, a source told Tasnim news agency, without elaborating.
Iran wants its control of the Strait of Hormuz to be recognised, allowing it to collect fees from ships that use it, which Washington rejects. Oman, which controls the opposite bank of the strait, says it is negotiating with the agreement of other regional states.
Ships had free and open passage through the strait before the war began.