TEHRAN — In another blatant violation of maritime security and international law, a US drone strike targeted two Iranian civilian fishing vessels in the Persian Gulf waters late Monday, leaving several fishermen missing.

The incident occurred approximately 12 nautical miles off Larak Island and 30 miles off the port of Korgan, located in  Minab city in southern Hormozgan province.

Local sources confirmed that projectile strikes directly hit the two small craft while they were operating within standard coastal fishing zones. Following the attack, an immediate emergency search-and-rescue operation was launched by provincial maritime authorities and relief units to locate the missing crew members.

Ahmad Nafisi, Deputy Governor of Hormozgan for Political, Security, and Social Affairs, confirmed the incident and stated that emergency and maritime search teams are scouring the area.

“Emergency teams and relevant authorities are currently conducting search-and-rescue operations in the perimeter of the incident, and the status of the missing fishermen is under active investigation,” Nafisi stated, adding that official assessments and casualties will be released as soon as verified details become available.

The strike on civilian fishermen near Minab comes amid a dangerous and persistent pattern of US military hostility targeting Iran’s southern coastal regions, maritime traffic, and civilian infrastructure following the broader military confrontations that erupted on February 28.

Since the onset of the February 28 war, US naval and unmanned aerial forces deployed across the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Sea of Oman have repeatedly escalated operations beyond declared parameters, increasingly endangering non-military vessels. Monday night’s strike on unarmed local fishing boats reflects a critical degradation of US engagement protocols and constitutes a direct assault on innocent local populations whose livelihood depends entirely on regional coastal waters.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and basic tenets of international humanitarian law, civilian vessels, non-combatants, and local economic assets are strictly protected from military strikes. Washington’s continued use of loitering munitions and unmanned combat aerial vehicles against unverified civilian targets in coastal waters constitutes an unambiguous violation of freedom of navigation and maritime safety conventions, undermines established de-escalation frameworks, and demonstrates a total disregard for the distinction between legitimate military assets and innocent civilian infrastructure.

Iran’s naval forces and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Navy have consistently maintained that the security of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is the sole responsibility of regional littoral states. Continued foreign military adventurism—especially acts targeting civilian lives near strategic hubs like Larak Island and the Strait of Hormuz—heightens the risk of broader retaliatory deterrence and regional escalation. Tehran has repeatedly warned that hostile actions against Iranian nationals, territory, and civilian assets in southern waters will not go unanswered, placing the full responsibility for the consequences of such unilateral aggression squarely on Washington.