ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy on Friday said it struck a Vietnamese LPG vessel attempting to cross an “illegal route” south of the Strait of Hormuz.

The IRGC said the ship, called NV Sunshine, belonged to the Vietnam-based Nhat Viet company, adding that the strike caused a “large” fire in the ship’s engine room and its propulsion system.

“Action against offending vessels will not be limited to the Strait of Hormuz; any vessel traversing an unauthorized route anywhere in the region will be pursued, and punishment will be inevitable,” the corps warned, blaming the US for the escalating tensions.

The incident comes amid a series of attacks targeting oil and commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz following an escalation in military confrontations between Iran and the United States in September.

Iran has shut the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil is transported, as part of its war against the US and Israel, contributing to a sharp rise in oil prices.

The US army, in turn, has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and tried to undermine Iran’s blockade by coordinating with commercial vessels to bypass Tehran’s restrictions.

An Iranian commercial vessel was struck in mid-September off the coast of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one person and injuring three others, Iran’s state broadcaster reported.

US media reported in late September that at least eight US soldiers were wounded in an attack on their ship two weeks earlier. The soldiers were not on a Navy ship, but officials refused to comment on what kind of vessel it was, NBC News said.