Iran gjør det igjen - Nå mot eget marinefartøy - AVweb

Iran Naval Accident Is Said to Kill at Least 20 During Exercise

One ship reportedly fired at and sank a missile ship during target practice, in another public disaster for Iran’s military.

By Farnaz Fassihi

·         Published May 10, 2020Updated May 11, 2020, 2:09 a.m. ET

An Iranian naval vessel was apparently hit by another’s missile during a military exercise in the Sea of Oman on Sunday, sinking the ship and leaving at least 20 people dead, according to people familiar with the incident and to social media reports from Iran.

Details of the incident were scant, and an official statement from Iran’s military on Monday said only that at least one person had died and several had been hurt. But four people with knowledge of the incident said the ship, identified as the missile boat Konarak, was hit and sunk by a missile from the frigate Jamaran by mistake. They spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisal from Iranian officials.

“The scope of the incident is under investigation by experts,” the navy’s statement said.

Iran’s military has come under intense global scrutiny since another mistake with missiles: In January, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down a Ukrainian Airlines passenger plane with two missiles, killing 176 on board. It subsequently blamed the incident on human error on a night that it launched ballistic missiles at a U.S. military base in Iraq in retaliation of the assassination of a top general.

Iran has also been battling a severe outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving trust between government and public at an all-time low. Iranians have blamed the government for not enforcing an early lockdown to battle the virus and not being transparent about the number of people infected.