Sailors killed in military training accident, Iran says
Naval vessel placing targets during exercise struck by friendly fire
TEHRAN, IRAN— A missile fired during an Iranian military training exercise mistakenly struck a naval vessel instead of its intended target in waters near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, killing 19 sailors and wounding15 others, Iranian authorities said Monday.
The bungled training exercises took place Sunday and raised new questions about the readiness of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces amid heightened tensions with U.S., just months after they accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jetliner near Tehran, killing 176 passengers.
It also comes soon after a tense naval encounter between Iranian and U.S. forces in the nearby Persian Gulf. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers two years ago, launching a maximum-pressure campaign against Iran that has pushed the archrivals to the verge of conflict repeatedly.
Analysts have warned regional tensions likely will increase again. This week also marks the anniversary of attacks on oil tankers near the strait that the U.S. blamed on Iran.
In Sunday’s friendly fire incident, a missile struck the Iranian navy vessel Konarak near the port of Jask, some 1,270 kilometres southeast of Tehran in the Gulf of Oman, the Iranian army said. Iran’s regular navy typically patrols those waters, while vessels from the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard usually patrol the Persian Gulf.
The Konarak, a Hendijanclass support ship taking part in the exercise, came too close to a target and the missile struck it, state TV said. Authorities did not identify the ship that fired the missile, though semi-official media in Iran identified it as the Iranian destroyer Jamaran.
The Konarak had been putting targets out for other ships to attack, state TV said.
Initially, officials said only one sailor had been killed. That number quickly changed to 19. A hospital admitted 12 sailors and treated another three with slight wounds, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Iranian vessels towed the Konarak to its nearby namesake port of Konarak in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province after the strike, satellite photos released by Maxar Technologies showed. Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi had bought the Dutch-made, 47-metre vessel just before being toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Konarak entered service in 1988 and crews later overhauled the vessel about 30 years later, making it able to launch sea and anti-ship missiles. Because of international sanctions, Iran still relies on weaponry purchased under the shah.
The boat typically carried a crew of 20. Authorities did not explain why it had 34 people aboard when the missile struck. The army identified those slain as officers and enlisted men, including a combat diver.
It appeared the sailors may have been firing Noor anti-ship missiles during the exercise, said Reed Foster, a senior analyst at Jane’s.
Reed added that the friendly fire incident “damages the credibility” of claims by the Iranian military and government that the country can develop sophisticated defensive weapons despite international sanctions.
This likely will provide new fodder for the U.S., which has been actively campaigning to keep a United Nations arms embargo in place on Iran that is due to expire in November.