South Korea says attack on ship in Strait of Hormuz likely involved an Iranian missile
Heejin Kim and Joyce Lee
SEOUL, May 27 (Reuters) – South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that an attack on a cargo ship operated by local shipper HMM in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month was likely related to an Iranian anti-ship missile.
The Iranian embassy in Seoul did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ministry made the assessment at a briefing to announce the outcome of the government investigation into the attack on the bulk carrier on May 4, which caused a fire and damaged the aft lower hull.
“Various evidence points to Iran,” said First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yoon-joo, adding that Seoul had not conclusively determined who was responsible or whether the attack was intentional.
The probe looked at the wreckage of unidentified objects found inside the ship following the attack on the ship.
Analysis showed that the ship, Namu, was attacked twice and the first warhead failed to explode, but the second did.
The ministry said components in the debris indicate the objects were likely made in Iran.
“Their engines resembled turbojet engines produced in Iran,” Park said, noting that one of the components had markings that appeared to have been used by an Iranian manufacturer.
Park said the warheads were similar to those used on Iran’s anti-ship missiles Noor or Qader.
He said South Korea would summon the Iranian ambassador to share the results of the investigation and deliver a message of protest. Park added that Seoul will also demand that Iran take responsible measures to prevent a recurrence of a similar incident.
He declined to speculate on why a South Korean ship might be targeted, saying Seoul could not determine intent without access to the attacker’s decision-making process.
But a South Korean defense official said that from a naval perspective, the firing of two missiles indicated intent to cause damage.
US President Donald Trump said Iran opened fire on the South Korean ship shortly after the incident and called on Seoul to join US-led efforts to secure ship passage through the strait.
Tehran had previously denied responsibility for the attack.
(Reporting by Heejin Kim, Joyce Lee and Brenda Goh, Editing by Ed Davies)
