Iran says 19 sailors killed by missile in training accident

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 wounding 15 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 the U.S., just months after Iran 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 repeatedly pushed the archrivals to the verge of conflict.

In Sunday’s friendly fire incident, a missile struck the Iranian navy vessel Konarak near the port of Jask, some 790 miles southeast of Tehran in the Gulf of Oman, the Iranian army said in a statement.

The Konarak, a Hendijan-class support ship taking part in the exercise, came too close to a target and the missile struck it, state TV said.

The Konarak had been putting targets out for other ships to attack, state TV said.

Iranian vessels towed the Konarak to a nearby port in Sistan and Baluchistan province, satellite photos released by Maxar Technologies showed. The vessel appeared heavily damaged in the images.