Iranian missile ‘mistakenly’ hits own support ship during exercise

An Iranian destroyer mistakenly shot and sank a second Iranian vessel during a naval exercise Sunday in the Persian Gulf, killing at least 19 sailors, said an official statement.

Another 15 were also injured in the incident, according to the public relations department of the 1st Maritime Region of Bandar Abbas.

The statement did not provide any details while noting that the incident is being investigated.

Reports said there were 30 to 40 crew members on board the Konarek, which had recently been added to the Iranian Navy’s fleet.

The initial reports claimed that the Konarek’s commander was among the dead.

Sources in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have deemed the incident “human error.”

The incident comes in the wake of a flurry of activity in the Persian Gulf in recent weeks, with tensions brewing between Iran and the United States.

Late last month, there was a dangerously close confrontation between US Navy vessels and Iranian Navy boats close to Iranian territorial waters in the Gulf.

US President Donald Trump took to Twitter, saying he had instructed the US Navy to “shoot down and destroy” Iranian gunboats if they “harass” US ships.

In response, IRGC chief Major General Hossein Salami said Iranian naval forces have been ordered to “target any US vessel or warship” in the Persian Gulf if they “harass” Iranian vessels.

On Saturday, there was a rumor that a US drone had been downed in Iranian territorial waters, which later proved to be a hoax.

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