Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy claimed Sunday evening that two oil tankers, including a supertanker, exploded and were immobilized after hitting naval mines on an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC said both vessels had turned off their automatic identification systems to cross the waterway with US military support and that the supertanker caught fire.
Open-source intelligence group OSINT613 said there was no independent confirmation of the two tanker strikes and that only one vessel incident had been reported in the area, involving the tug and supply ship Selat Storm being hit by an unidentified projectile. BBC Persian journalist Ghoncheh Azad said the video released by the IRGC to support its claim uses a fake composite image combining two real photographs at the beginning and end of the clip.
The disputed release followed two other videos circulated by Iranian media earlier Sunday that ship-tracking service TankerTrackers and maritime researchers identified as older incidents. Those clips showed the bulk carrier Cape Dao, which was hit Sept 23 and sank Oct 14, and the Kuwaiti supertanker Kazimah III, which was struck Oct 1.
