Iranian television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings.

Published On 7 Jul 20267 Jul 2026

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Updated: an hour agoUpdated: an hour ago

Qatar has condemned an Iranian attack on one of its liquefied natural gas tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, after the vessel was hit by a projectile and caught fire.

The attack early on Tuesday was the latest targeting a vessel moving through the Gulf’s critical waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed before the US-Israel war on Iran began in late February.

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“The targeting of the Qatari tanker ‘Al Rekayyat’ as it passed near the Strait of Hormuz constitutes an unacceptable assault on the security and safety of international navigation and global energy supplies, and a grave and blatant violation of international law, particularly the rules guaranteeing freedom of maritime navigation and safe passage through international waterways,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari wrote on X.

“We hold Iran fully legally responsible for this assault and any resulting damages or consequences.”

Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings, but Tehran did not directly claim the assault.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said the tanker had been hit near Limah, Oman, in the strait. The projectile hit the port side of the vessel while it was trying to travel south out of the strait towards the Gulf of Oman, UKMTO said.

The agency said there were no reports of casualties or environmental damage, adding that authorities were investigating the incident.‌

UKMTO later reported that two other ships had been hit on Tuesday in separate attacks. It said one was struck by a drone, sustaining minor structural damage while the other, which was hit by an unidentified projectile, was believed to have sustained structural damage. In both cases, nobody was wounded.

Hossein Royvaran, a Tehran-based analyst, told Al Jazeera that it was possible the Qatari tanker had been targeted because it strayed into an area where Iranian teams were performing mine-clearing operations.

“The area near Oman is likely full of mines,” said Royvaran.

“There is a possibility that these ships headed in directions where Iranian teams in that area are clearing mines, and the ships’ movement might have threatened those teams.”

Tehran has repeatedly declared that only its approved route through the Strait of Hormuz is safe, and it is suspected of attacking other ships that have used another route close to the Omani shore.

Talks between Iran and the United States on a permanent end to the war appear to be on hold until after the burial of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the US-Israel war on Iran on February 28.

Authorities flew Khamenei’s body to the Shia seminary city of Qom overnight, where mourners honoured him on Tuesday.