Dubai | Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard opened fire Wednesday on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz, damaging the ship and further raising the stakes as planned ceasefire talks in Pakistan failed to materialise.

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said the attack happened around 7:55 am in the strait and targeted a container ship.

The UKMTO said a Guard gunboat did not hail the ship before firing.

It said no one was hurt and there was no environmental impact from the attack.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the assault.

It comes after the US seized an Iranian container ship after shooting it this past weekend and boarded an oil tanker associated with Iran's oil trade in the Indian Ocean.