An Indian crew member was killed and eight others injured after two United Arab Emirates (UAE) oil tankers were struck by Iranian missiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.
According to the UAE Ministry of Defence (MoD), the tankers—Mombasa and Al Bahiyah—were sailing through the southern shipping lane of the strait in Omani territorial waters when they were hit by two Iranian missiles.
The deceased Indian national was aboard Mombasa. Among the eight injured crew members, six are Indian nationals and two are Ukrainians. The ministry said four of them sustained serious injuries.
"The attack also caused material damage to both tankers as a result of the fires that broke out on board, which have since been brought under control," the UAE MoD said.
The ministry added that the UAE reserves the right to respond and has heightened its state of readiness to safeguard its security and national interests.
In a separate strongly worded statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) condemned the attack, saying that using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of "economic coercion" or "blackmail" amounts to an act of piracy and poses a direct threat to regional stability, the safety of its people, and global energy security.
The ministry also expressed its condolences to the family of the deceased crew member.
"The ministry extended its sincere condolences and sympathy to the family of the victim, as well as to the Government and people of the Republic of India, and wished all the injured a speedy recovery," the statement said.
The attack comes amid renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for global oil and natural gas supplies and one of the world's most strategically important waterways.
Over the past week, US forces launched multiple strikes on Iran in what the US Central Command described as an operation aimed at degrading Tehran's ability to target civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting the strait. Iran subsequently retaliated by targeting US military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Oman.
