OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
1:30 PM – Wednesday, April 1, 2026
Reports from Qatari defense officials and maritime security agencies confirmed that a fuel oil tanker was struck by an Iranian missile early on Wednesday.
The vessel, identified as the “Aqua 1,” was hit while operating in northern Qatari territorial waters approximately 17 nautical miles north of the Ras Laffan industrial hub.
According to the Qatari Ministry of Defense, three cruise missiles were launched from Iran — two were successfully intercepted, but the third struck the tanker above the waterline.
QatarEnergy, which had the vessel under charter, reported that there were no casualties among the crew and no environmental damage or oil leaks as a result from the strike.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also noted that while one projectile caused a small fire that was quickly extinguished, a second unexploded projectile was discovered in the ship’s engine room.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) later claimed responsibility for the attack, asserting that the tanker was targeted due to its alleged ties to Israel. “Aqua 1 was precisely targeted in the central region of the Persian Gulf in a missile battle,” Iranian state media quoted the IRGC as saying.
Meanwhile, this incident follows a series of recent escalations in the Persian Gulf, including a strike on a Kuwaiti tanker at a Dubai anchorage the previous day and prior attacks on Qatari LNG production facilities that have significantly disrupted regional energy exports.
Tehran has so far knocked out 17% of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas export capacity, Reuters reported.
The Islamic Regime retaliated immediately against the U.S., mere hours after the first strikes on Iran’s capital city on February 28th, with strikes on the Al Udeid Base in Doha, the U.S.’s largest Air Force base in the region.
The strike also occurs as the maritime industry grapples with war risk premiums climbing as high as 10%, forcing a significant portion of regional trade to divert to Pakistani ports. While the United Kingdom and a coalition of 35 nations seek a diplomatic solution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran remains steadfast, analysts say.
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