Ship on fire in Strait of Hormuz according to British military

Commercial vessels are seen in the Strait of Hormuz (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

A ship caught fire early on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz near the coastline of Oman, the British military said.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre issued a warning about the fire, saying it was unclear what sparked the blaze.

The US military has been encouraging ships to use a route near Oman to transit the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has responded with attacks targeting those vessels, insisting it must have control over the crucial waterway through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime.

The US began a new round of airstrikes early on Monday, targeting Iran after announcing the death of another American service member, while Iran fired missiles towards Jordan which risked widening the conflict into neighbouring Israel.

Step by step, the US and Iran have inched closer to all-out war as last month’s interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled and shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.

The US military said the service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone.

Earlier, the military said its strikes targeted Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to retaliate for Friday’s killing of troops in Jordan.

One service member was missing after that attack and the military’s new statement said “unidentified remains” were found on Sunday and were being examined. Since the war began, 17 US service members have been killed.

The renewed exchanges of fire, now in their second week, have seen the US target bridges and electrical facilities in Iran.

Strait of Hormuz (PA Graphics)

The US military’s Central Command announced a new round of strikes early on Monday, now into their ninth straight night.

“The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” Central Command said in a statement.

Tehran has retaliated by hitting US-allied countries throughout the Middle East.

Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait again activated air defences for incoming Iranian drones and missiles. Israel warned that missiles launched toward neighbouring Jordan could cause fire to spill over into Israeli territory for the first time in weeks.