Fire breaks out at two commercial ships south of Iran

ALBAWABA - A fire erupts on two commercial ships in Deyr port, south of Iran, Mehr News Agency reported Tuesday.

The causes of the incident remain unknown, the Iranian media outlet further mentioned. 

This comes amid rising tension in the Strait of Hormuz after the announcement of the United States' "Project Freedom" to guide stranded ships out of the strait after Iran's closure of the waterway, which is considered a key path for oil shipments, due to attacks by the U.S. and Israel.

In addition, Tasnim news agency quoted a military source as saying that the U.S. military targeted two civilian cargo boats, not Revolutionary Guard speedboats, in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, killing five people.

The military source told the agency that following the American reports about the attacks, Iranian authorities conducted an investigation which revealed that US forces "attacked and fired on two small cargo boats carrying civilians, which were on their way from Khasab on the Omani coast towards the Iranian coast."

In contrast, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said that Seahawk and Apache attack helicopters were "used to eliminate small Iranian boats that were threatening commercial shipping."