Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy claimed Saturday evening that two more oil tankers struck naval mines and caught fire while attempting to transit unauthorized routes in the Strait of Hormuz, following a separate report by the country’s regular navy that a third tanker ignited earlier in the day. In a statement carried by Iranian state television, the IRGC Navy said one vessel was struck in the eastern section of the strait and the other inside the waterway after both switched off their navigation and positioning systems and committed repeated regulatory violations.
The IRGC Navy provided no details on the vessels’ identities, crews or casualties, but warned that ships cooperating with US forces or ignoring Iranian restrictions would encounter mines and urged mariners not to “pay attention to the fantasies of the CENTCOM commander.” Earlier Saturday, Iran’s regular army navy said a noncompliant tanker was disabled and caught fire east of the strait after ignoring warnings and disabling its tracking systems, attributing the blaze to a naval mine in one version of its statement and a naval cannon in another. Separately, the UK Maritime Trade Operations center reported an incident involving a bulk carrier and military forces about 18 nautical miles east of Khorfakkan.
