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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and regular Navy announced on Saturday that explosions and fires broke out aboard three oil tankers after they struck naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, where Tehran continues to enforce strict navigation restrictions.
​In a statement carried by Iranian state television early Saturday, the IRGC Navy said that "two oil tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorized corridor after switching off their radar and positioning systems exploded and caught fire after hitting naval mines". In a separate statement, Iran’s regular Navy announced that a third oil tanker "navigating through an unsafe and prohibited zone east of the Strait of Hormuz with its tracking systems turned off caught fire and was forced to stop after striking a naval mine".
​Neither statement identified the vessels or the countries whose flags they fly, though the IRGC noted that one of the two ships set ablaze in the southern part of the strait was a supertanker.
​Escalating Maritime Tensions
​Since war erupted in the Middle East with the initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, Tehran has imposed tight restrictions on maritime traffic through the vital global energy chokepoint, regularly targeting vessels that attempt to transit without its authorization. In response, the United States has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and has been escorting ships transiting the strait in growing numbers.
​Tehran has reported explosions and fires aboard several vessels inside the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, while Washington maintains that it has cleared the majority of mines from the waterway. On Friday, the IRGC released footage showing a thick plume of smoke rising from a vessel it stated was carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) after striking a mine in the southern section of the strait.
​Source: AFP / Rum News Agency