Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that a South Korean-operated cargo ship was "shot at" by Iran earlier this week after deciding to "go it alone." Trump made the remarks during an event at the White House, a day after he wrote on social media that Iran had "taken some shots" at the ship and other targets, and that it is time for South Korea to join a mission to free up shipping in the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Trump emphasized South Korea's reliance on the Strait of Hormuz for oil imports, noting that "South Korea got 43 percent of it." He further explained that the incident occurred because the ship was not part of a secured group of vessels. "By the way, their ship was shot at. They were not in the cavalcade of ships they had. They decided to go it alone, and their ship got the hell knocked out of it yesterday, but they didn't shoot the ships that were guarded by us," Trump stated.

The South Korean government reported that an explosion took place on the vessel operated by HMM Co., a major South Korean shipping firm, on Monday while it was anchored in waters off the United Arab Emirates. An investigation is currently underway to determine the exact cause of the incident. The explosion coincided with the U.S. launching its "Project Freedom" mission, which aims to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage that Iran has effectively restricted amid ongoing regional conflict.