LONDON, April 18 — Iranian gunboats fired on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz today, a British maritime security agency reported, after Iran’s military reversed a pledge to open the route to shipping.

The tanker’s captain reported being approached 37 kilometres northeast of Oman by two gunboats of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC). Without any radio warning, the gunboats “then fired upon the tanker”, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said in an online statement.

“Tanker and crew are reported safe. Authorities are investigating.” — AFP