'Friendly fire' kills Iran sailors

An Iranian warship was hit by a friendly fire missile during naval exercises, killing 19 sailors.

The incident revealed yesterday came amid tensions with the United States in Gulf waters.

It involved the support vessel Konarak and came on Sunday afternoon near Bandar-e Jask off Iran's southern coast.

"The vessel was hit after moving a practice target to its destination and not creating enough distance between itself and the target," state television reported.

The armed forces said 19 crew were killed and 15 injured when the Konarak was involved in an "accident" during exercises, without elaborating.

But the ship had been towed ashore for "technical investigations," it added, calling on people to "avoid speculation."

The Tasnim news agency said the Konarak was hit by the missile fired by another Iranian warship.

It was hit by "friendly fire after the Moudge-class frigate Jamaran accidentally shot it with a missile during a live-firing exercise in the Jask area of Persian Gulf waters."

The 15 injured were taken to hospital in Sistan and Baluchistan, with two of them in intensive care.

The Konarak was made in the Netherlands and purchased by Iran before the 1979 Islamic revolution. Weighing 447 tonnes and 47 meters long, the Hendijan-class vessel is equipped with four cruise missiles.

It was not clear how many crew members were on board at the time of the accident.

Iran and the United States have traded barbs regularly over incidents in Gulf waters.

President Donald Trump recently ordered the US Navy to "destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships."