TEHRAN: Two senior Iranian commanders, one a general, have been killed fighting Daesh in Syria alongside President Bashar Assad’s forces, local media reported Wednesday.
On Tuesday, an Iranian state television reporter working in Syria, in two posts on the Instagram photosharing service, named them as Brig. Gen. Farshad Hasounizadeh and Hamid Mukhtarband.
The two belonged to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards and were killed Monday, the reporter said.
Mukhtarband, whose rank was not given, was formerly a brigade commander in the southern Iranian city of Ahvaz.
There was no official confirmation in Tehran of the deaths. Iran’s Fars and Tasnim news agencies and Tabnak, a news website, reported the state television reporter’s account.
Neither the reporter nor the agencies said where the deaths had occurred.
If confirmed, they would come the same week the Guards announced their highest-profile casualty in the effort to shore up Assad.
General Hossein Hamedani, who had undertaken 80 missions in Syria according to a eulogy at his funeral in Iran, was killed in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo.
Shiite-dominated Iran is Assad’s strongest regional ally, sending military advisers from the Guards and other forces to help him against rebels seeking his overthrow.
Iranian commander, general killed in Syria
Iranian commander, general killed in Syria
Three more vessels hit by projectiles in Strait of Hormuz, showing merchant ships remain in firing line
- A projectile hit a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz, setting it ablaze
DUBAI: Three vessels have been hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, maritime security and risk firms said on Wednesday, bringing the number of ships struck in the region since the Iran conflict began to at least 14.
Shipping along the narrow strait has come to a near standstill since the United States and Israel began strikes on Iran on February 28, preventing exports of around a fifth of the world’s oil supply and sending global oil prices surging to highs not seen since 2022.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have warned that any ship passing through the Strait will be targeted. US President Donald Trump has threatened to ramp up US attacks on Iran if it continues to obstruct the strait.
The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel had been struck by “two projectiles of unknown origin” while sailing through the Strait on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship’s Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping said in a statement.
“Three crew members are reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room,” Precious Shipping said.
“The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three missing crew members,” it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.
Images provided by the Thai navy showed smoke pouring out of the back of the ship.
The US Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Trump has said the US is prepared to provide naval escorts whenever needed.
TWO OTHER SHIPS SUSTAIN MINOR DAMAGE
Earlier on Wednesday, the Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty sustained minor damage from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (46 km) off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, two maritime security firms said.
Its Japanese owner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and a spokesperson for Ocean Network Express (ONE), its charterer, said that the vessel was struck while at anchor in the Gulf and inspection of the hull had revealed minor damage above the waterline.
All crew are safe, they said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the cause of the incident remained unclear and was under investigation.
A third vessel, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 miles northwest of the UAE coast, maritime security firms said.
The projectile had damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, maritime risk management company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel’s crew were safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold area whilst anchored. There were no crew injuries and no listing.
