South Korea's defence ministry said on Thursday it would deploy maritime patrol aircraft and an explosive ordnance disposal team to waters near the Strait of Hormuz as part of a mission to help keep the waterway open.
Meanwhile, two oil tankers "suffered a fire attack" in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly told local media on Thursday.
South Korea maintains it will not deploy troops to intervene militarily in the Iran war, while seeking to protect commercial shipping and energy supplies through one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints.
The US-Iran war that began on 28 February has disrupted shipping through the Hormuz strait, a vital conduit for global energy supplies that normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil.
The United States has, in response, imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and helped tankers travel the strait.
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US Central Command said last month that it had helped Gulf countries export 1.5 billion barrels of oil via Hormuz since the summer.
South Korea's defence ministry confirmed reports that the government plans to expand the operational area of its Cheonghae anti-piracy naval unit, which protects commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, to waters near the Strait of Hormuz, a defence ministry spokesperson said Thursday.
The deployment will include a destroyer, a P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, an explosive ordnance disposal team, unmanned surface vessels, unmanned underwater vehicles and remotely operated vehicles for underwater exploration, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Extending the deployment of the Cheonghae unit — currently authorised until the end of this year — will require parliamentary approval, Yonhap said.
"The enhancement of the Cheonghae unit's mission is to protect our citizens and safeguard our economic interests," a defence ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
The official said the reinforcement is strictly for non-combat purposes and the unit will operate independently of allied forces.
"Operations will remain restricted to the open waters south of Oman, and the maritime patrol aircraft will be prohibited from targeting or monitoring Iranian territory, territorial waters or the interior of the Strait of Hormuz during their missions," he said.
In September, South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung reiterated that South Korea would not deploy troops in a way that could lead to military intervention.
"We have upheld the principle of non-involvement and non-intervention in the war until now," he said. "And we will continue to uphold it going forward."
Iran has warned South Korea against any such deployment after Seoul said it was weighing a contribution to the waterway's security.
Two oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, the IRGC said, according to local media on Thursday.
"Last night, in two separate incidents, a large oil tanker attempting to pass through the illegal passageway south of the Strait of Hormuz suffered a fire after striking a mine and was brought to a halt," the IRGC told the Fars news agency.
"Another supertanker was halted by a massive fire while exiting the eastern Strait of Hormuz. A tugboat that had approached the supertanker to extinguish the fire also caught fire."
Fars also reported that the IRGC navy's electronic warfare unit had taken control of two US drones.
— with additional reporting from Reuters
