Iran says a ship sank after striking a mine in Strait of Hormuz, and other Middle East developments

Iran said Wednesday that a cargo ship has sunk after hitting a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz, with few immediate details.

Meanwhile, a hospital in Gaza said that an Israeli strike has killed a woman. And Iran has executed a man accused of an “armed operation” against the theocracy in support of exiled former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Wednesday. Read our full coverage here.

Iran says a cargo ship sank after hitting a naval mine

A cargo ship has sunk after hitting a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps navy said. It was the first time Iran has reported a ship sinking after hitting a mine during the war.

There were few details, including about the fate of the crew. State TV quoted a Guard statement saying the ship was traveling on what it called an illegal and dangerous route when it hit the mine Wednesday morning.

It said the ship was carrying 2,500 containers when it first caught fire. The broadcaster aired images of the ship tilting into the water with a thick plume of smoke rising. The ship’s identity was not clear.

Iran has repeatedly warned ships against trying to transit the strait without its approval. The U.S. military has been guiding ships through the strait on a route off Oman on the far side.

There was no immediate verification of the sinking and no report by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations monitor.

Israeli strike in Gaza City kills a woman

An Israeli strike on an apartment in Gaza City killed one woman early Wednesday, according to officials at Shifa hospital.

Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas militant but was still assessing the strike’s outcome, without elaborating.

Just over a year since a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Israel still launches near-daily deadly strikes on the Palestinian enclave.

More than 1,490 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its figures are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It doesn’t give a breakdown of civilians and militants, but says most of the dead are women and children.

Iran executes a man accused of ‘armed operation’

Iran on Wednesday hanged a man accused of an “armed operation” against the theocracy in support of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah.

A report by Mizan, an outlet affiliated with the Islamic Republic’s judiciary, identified the man as Ali Sina Mostafavi and said he opened fire earlier during the Iran war and injured several people including a child in the southeastern city of Kerman.

Executions of people on similar charges have prompted an international outcry. U.N. experts this month called on Iran to halt all executions.

___

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.