Saudi Arabia and key regional partners have condemned what Riyadh described as an Iranian attack on a Saudi-owned supertanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, 31 August.
Reports claim that two Filipino sailors were killed and involved in further strikes on commercial vessels during a narrow window of time.
Saudi authorities said the Saudi national shipping company Bahri confirmed the death toll after its vessel Sidr was struck while transiting the vital waterway.
In a statement, Bahri said the ship was “involved in a security incident while transiting the Strait of Hormuz” and that the company “confirms the loss of two of its Filipino seafarers.”
Saudi officials linked the attack to events described by maritime risk management and intelligence firms, which reported that two tankers loaded with Saudi crude oil were struck by unknown projectiles within minutes of each other as they moved through the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said it condemned Iran’s targeting of the Saudi tanker and the statement also criticized what it characterized as broader Iranian actions in the region, condemning alleged Iranian attacks on Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
While Saudi officials condemned the incident, Iran has not publicly responded to the specific allegations.
Qatar added its voice to the condemnation, describing Iran’s alleged strike on the Saudi tanker Sidr as a blatant violation of international maritime law and UN Security Council Resolution 2817.
Iran’s Tasnim News agency reported Thursday that at least six Iranian military service members, including three pilots, were killed in U.S. airstrikes carried out Tuesday night but it is unclear if they are among the 18 people Iran’s health ministry says died in the attacks, which also reportedly killed four civilians at a wedding in Hormozgan Province.
Separately, President Trump publicly corrected Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who had claimed no Americans died in the conflict; Trump said 18 people were “killed in Iran,” though Pentagon records show the toll split between two casualty categories, with all 18 U.S. deaths occurring outside Iranian territory during operations against the country.
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