Oil tanker sinking after strike in Strait of Hormuz - Iranian state media

Iranian state television has said that an oil tanker was sinking after it was struck while attempting to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

"The fate of the offending oil tanker that was struck while attempting to illegally pass through the Strait of Hormuz is that it is now sinking," state TV reported, without elaborating.

It carried footage showing heavy black smoke emanating from the burning tanker at sea.

The strait carries a quarter of the world's seaborne oil and a fifth of all liquified natural gas.

Yesterday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards had warned that the vital waterway was unsafe due to US and Israeli attacks and was therefore closed to ships.