Doha ¨C A drone struck a commercial vessel in Qatari waters on Sunday, the country¡¯s defense ministry said, after Iran¡¯s Islamic Revolutionary Guards threatened to target U.S. vessels in the region.

Arch-foes the United States and Iran have been clashing in the Gulf and trading accusations in recent days, as Washington waits for Tehran to respond to its latest negotiating position.

¡°A commercial cargo vessel in the country¡¯s territorial waters ¡ª northeast of Mesaieed Port ¡ª coming from Abu Dhabi, was targeted by a drone on Sunday morning. The incident resulted in a limited fire on board the vessel, with no reported injuries,¡± the Qatari ministry said on X.

¡°The vessel continued its journey toward Mesaieed Port after the fire was brought under control,¡± it added, without providing details on the drone¡¯s origin.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center had earlier said a bulk carrier reported being hit 23 nautical miles northeast of Doha by an ¡°unknown projectile¡°.

¡°There was a small fire that has been extinguished, there are no casualties. There is no reported environmental impact,¡± the agency said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Iran¡¯s Fars news agency reported, citing an unidentified source, that ¡°the bulk carrier that was struck near the coast of Qatar was sailing under the U.S. flag and belonged to the United States¡°.

The incident comes after a U.S. fighter jet on Friday disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers in the Gulf of Oman to prevent them from continuing to Iran.

Iran¡¯s Guards then threatened on Saturday to target U.S. sites in the Middle East and ¡°enemy ships¡± if its own tankers came under fire.

Meanwiile, South Korea¡¯s Foreign Ministry said Sunday Unidentified aircraft had struck a South Korean cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz last week.

Following the attack, U.S. President Donald Trump urged South Korea to join American operations aimed at restoring normal shipping through the strait.

The waterway has been virtually closed since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran in late February, with Tehran responding with attacks across the Middle East and imposing a chokehold on the strait, rattling global energy markets.

On Monday, ¡°two unidentified aircraft struck the outer plate of the port-side ballast tank at the stern of the HMM Namu at roughly one-minute intervals, causing flames and smoke¡°, Seoul¡¯s foreign ministry spokesman Park Il told a news briefing.

He did not specify what kind of aircraft had been involved in the attack, saying they ¡°were captured on CCTV footage, but there are limitations in identifying the exact type, launch origin and physical size of the objects.¡±