19 sailors dead after Iran accidentally fires missile on own ship - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

May 11, 2020

JAKARTA, INDONESIA - FEBRUARY 27: Iranian navy stand on the Kharg ship at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia on February 27, 2020. The Kharg ship visit is part of 70th diplomatic relationship Islamic Republic of Iran-Republic of Indonesia. Kharg starts the journey from Abbas harbour in Iran, carries 300 Iranian navy student who will do sport activity together with the Indonesian navy during docked in Jakarta 25-28 February. (Photo by Anton Raharjo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) — Iranian navy stand on the Kharg ship at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia on Feb. 27, 2020. — Anton Raharjo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

At least 19 Iranian sailors are dead and 15 injured after an accidental missile firing during a planned naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman, Iran’s state-run news agency reports.

The Iranian press said the Hendijan-class Konarak was struck on Sunday afternoon during a drill near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important waterways.

Kharg

Iran navy's largest ship sinks after fire in Gulf of Oman

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Iranian soldiers take part in the "National Persian Gulf day" in the Strait of Hormuz, on April 30, 2019. - The date coincides with the anniversary of a successful military campaign by Shah Abbas the Great of Persia in the 17th century, which drove the Portuguese navy out of the Hormuz Island, after which is named the waterway which separates the Gulf from the Sea of Oman. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

US military calls Iranian navy friendly fire incident 'tragic' in statement

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

JAKARTA, INDONESIA - FEBRUARY 27: Iranian navy stand on the Kharg ship at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia on February 27, 2020. The Kharg ship visit is part of 70th diplomatic relationship Islamic Republic of Iran-Republic of Indonesia. Kharg starts the journey from Abbas harbour in Iran, carries 300 Iranian navy student who will do sport activity together with the Indonesian navy during docked in Jakarta 25-28 February. (Photo by Anton Raharjo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Iran’s supreme leader orders probe into 'mistaken' naval strike

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Helicopters fly from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) during a resupply mission with the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in this U.S. Navy handout picture taken in the Gulf of Oman April 13, 2015 and released April 20, 2015. The U.S. Navy sent the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its escort cruiser, USS Normandy, from the Gulf into the Arabian Sea on Sunday. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, denied reports the ships were on a mission to intercept Iranian arms

US says Iran promised swift release of sailors

Laura Rozen

Laura Rozen