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An oil slick is seen along the southern coast of Iran’s Qeshm Island in a photo provided by Iran’s ISNA news agency on Aug. 13 local time. / AFP-Yonhap

An Iranian merchant vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz was struck on Sept. 13 local time, leaving casualties as the U.S. and Iran continued their military confrontation, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency and the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said.

UKMTO said it received a report that a projectile had hit a vessel passing through the strait, adding that the extent of the damage, the condition of those on board and any environmental impact had not yet been confirmed.

It also said the vessel was struck by “unidentified ammunition” and that no group had immediately claimed responsibility.

Amir Teymouri, governor of Qeshm, said a commercial vessel was attacked at around 5 a.m. near the coast of Shib Deraz between Hengam and Qeshm islands.

“One person was killed and three others were injured in the incident,” Teymouri told Tasnim.

The attack came as military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran resumed after the U.S. struck Iranian rocket launchers used for laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz on Aug. 30.

Separately, Saudi civil defense authorities said on Sept. 12 that an aerial attack using projectiles launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen injured two people in the Jizan region and damaged several buildings, including a mosque.

                                                                                                             Kim Hyun-min