Sri Lanka, March 5 -- Iranian state television says its naval fighters have hit a US tanker this morning in the northern Gulf.

The ship was "hit by a missile in the north of the Persian Gulf" and is "currently on fire", the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement read on state television.

The IRGC said the group had "full control" over the Straits of Hormuz, which runs in between the Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

The incident has not been independently confirmed. The UK Maritime Trade Organisation (MTO) earlier said a tanker was struck off the coast of Kuwait this morning, in the northern Gulf.

It says: "The master of a tanker at anchor, reports witnessing and hearing a large explosion on the port side then seeing a s...