WASHINGTON — Iran attacked a US-contracted ship with Americans on board this week, according to a report — heightening tensions in the Middle East, with President Trump predicting the conflict won’t end until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Fox News reported that the attack near the Strait of Hormuz featured four Iranian drones and at least one missile. Minor injuries were reported.
The report did not specify whether the US personnel were private-sector or government employees or identify the vessel or its cargo.
The US military has supported commercial ships seeking to transit the shipping bottleneck, which Iran has sought to assert control over, leading to the breakdown of a tentative peace deal in July.
The development emerged days after Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi movement seized control of strategically important islands at the mouth of the Red Sea, causing oil prices to spike on fears that that shipping lane too might be affected by the US-Iran war.
The Pentagon referred a request for comment to US Central Command, which did not immediately respond, nor did the White House.
