Tanker Set Ablaze in Strait of Hormuz  07/07 06:18

   

   DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- A tanker traveling off the coast of Oman 
in the Strait of Hormuz caught on fire early Tuesday morning after being struck 
by a projectile, the British military said.

   The attack was the latest targeting a vessel moving through the narrow mouth 
of the Persian Gulf, through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded 
once passed in peacetime. Iranian state television said the liquefied natural 
gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim 
the assault.

   Tehran has repeatedly declared that only its approved route through the 
strait is safe and is suspected of attacking other ships that have used another 
route close to the Omani shore.

   The U.S. is eager to press ahead with negotiations with Iran aimed at fully 
reopening the strait, rolling back Tehran's disputed nuclear program and 
reaching a permanent end to the war launched Feb. 28. But previous attacks in 
the strait have sparked retaliatory strikes by the U.S., which then saw Iran 
attack Gulf Arab states -- raising the risk of an escalation.

   Talks between Iran and the U.S., meanwhile, appear to be on hold until after 
the burial of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed 
at the beginning of the war. Signs have been increasing that mourners at his 
funeral were calling for the death of U.S. President Donald Trump.

   Authorities flew Khamenei's body to the Shiite seminary city of Qom 
overnight, where mourners honored him Tuesday.

   Tanker struck in latest attack in strait

   The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the tanker had been 
hit near Limah, Oman, in the strait. The UKMTO said the projectile hit the port 
side of the vessel while trying to traveling south out of the strait toward the 
Gulf of Oman.

   It said there was no environmental impact from the strike and that 
authorities were investigating.

   Iranian state TV, quoting anonymous sources, implied Tehran carried out the 
assault on a tanker it said was carrying natural gas from Qatar. However, 
there's been no official claim from the Islamic Republic for the attack.

   Iran's joint military command warned last Thursday that all oil tankers 
moving through the strait must use its approved routes. It also said that 
interference by U.S. forces in the strait "will be met with a rapid and 
decisive reaction."

   But the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational body overseen by 
the U.S. Navy, told shippers on Monday that the route around Oman "has been 
expanded and remains available for all traffic."

   Trump on Monday at the White House also warned Iran that they'd need to 
"make a deal or we're going to finish the job."

   "I'd rather make a deal, because I don't want to affect 91 million people," 
Trump said. "We can knock down their bridges in one hour. We can knock out 
their energy supply."

   Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships 
to pass without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran insisted it must control 
the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades 
of practice in the waterway.

   The U.S. and many Gulf Arab states say they won't agree to Iran charging for 
passage through the strait. An effort by Oman and a United Nations agency to 
launch a new route near Oman's shore earlier sparked attacks across the 
Mideast, highlighting the tensions.

   The data firm Kpler reported that over last weekend at least 108 ships 
crossed through the strait using various routes.

   Mourners gather in Qom for Khamenei's funeral

   Iranian state television early Tuesday aired live images from a helicopter 
of hundreds of thousands of people walking toward Jamkaran Mosque, just south 
of Qom, for a funeral service for Khamenei. The mosque is believed by Shiites 
to have once hosted the Muhammad al-Mahdi, the 12th and last Shiite imam, who 
disappeared in the 9th century and will one day reappear to bring justice to 
the world.

   Images of Khamenei and his son, Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba 
Khamenei, were displayed on banners and posters held by mourners. Mojtaba 
Khamenei has yet to make an appearance in the funeral ceremonies, which are 
unfolding over several days. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly 
being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.

   At the height of the war, before an April ceasefire, Israel targeted top 
Iranian leaders, in at least one case likely using their public appearances to 
fix their position. It has also threatened to kill the younger Khamenei.

   Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the 
mourning, which began Saturday and will end Thursday as Khamenei is buried at 
the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace. Khamenei was 86.