Iran Guards says three tankers on fire after hitting mines in Hormuz

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that three oil tankers had caught fire after hitting mines while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz. “Over the past 24 hours, three violating oil tankers exploded and caught fire after striking mines while attempting to pass through the unauthorised southern route of the Strait of Hormuz,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement.

The vessels had “switched off all their radar and navigation systems” and disregarded warnings from the IRGC navy, the statement said. It was not immediately clear when the incidents occurred or which flags the tankers were flying. Since the outbreak of the war on February 28, Iran has severely restricted traffic through the strategic waterway, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil and gas consumption.

The United States has in response imposed a blockade on Iranian ports. Iran’s armed forces have repeatedly accused US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US military operations in the region, of encouraging vessels to use a southern corridor near the Omani coast that Tehran considers unauthorised. “The IRGC Navy states that the unauthorised route through the Strait of Hormuz is mined, and that vessel owners and crews are responsible for transiting these routes and should not pay attention to CENTCOM’s delusions on social media,” the statement said.

Earlier on Thursday, the British maritime agency UKMTO said it had received a report of a ship on fire in the strait but gave no details about the cause or any casualties. It was not immediately clear if it was one of the three ships referred to by the Guards. The organisation also said it had captured a US reconnaissance drone during an operation in the Strait of Hormuz in a separate statement.

“The IRGC Navy announced that its electronic warfare unit had successfully captured a US MQM-170 drone during an offensive operation in the western Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.