Iran Reports Three Oil Tankers Hit Mines in Hormuz

Tankers strike mines on unauthorized routes

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said on Saturday that two oil tankers struck naval mines and caught fire while trying to cross the southern Strait of Hormuz by an unauthorized route, in a waterway where Tehran has restricted navigation. A separate statement from Iran's conventional navy said a third tanker was hit east of the strait.

The IRGC Navy's public relations office said the vessels were trying to pass through undetected, with their radar and positioning systems switched off. “A short while ago, two oil tankers that had switched off their radar and positioning systems and were secretly attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorised route exploded and caught fire after striking a naval mine,” the Guards' navy said in the statement, which was carried by the Iranian state broadcaster early on Saturday. One of the vessels was a supertanker, it said, adding that flames from the ship illuminated the strait's southern shores.

The navy's statement said the other tanker was “navigating through the unsafe and prohibited zone east of the Strait of Hormuz with its tracking and identification systems switched off, caught fire and was forced to stop after striking a naval mine”. Neither statement gave the names or origins of the vessels.

Warning to shipowners and a US blockade

The IRGC Navy warned shipowners and shipping companies against transiting the strategic waterway without coordinating with its maritime traffic control center. Since war erupted with the United States in February, Tehran has insisted that vessels obtain its authorization to cross the strait and has attacked ships that do not comply.

In response to Tehran's choking of the trade route, the United States has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and provides military support to tankers using the waterway. Iran's armed forces have reported several fires or explosions on board ships in the strait in recent weeks, often saying the vessels had struck mines, and the Guards released footage on Friday of a large plume of smoke rising from a vessel they said was carrying liquefied gas and hit a mine in the south of the strait. The US military says it has cleared the main routes through the waterway of mines.

Explosions reported in Jask as Bahrain is targeted

The announcement came amid reports of explosions in Iran's southern port city of Jask, east of the strait. The official IRNA news agency, citing local sources, said no impacts had been reported in the city or elsewhere in Hormozgan province. On Thursday, IRNA reported an “enemy” strike on the southern city of Sirik.

The IRGC later claimed to have destroyed a US early-warning radar in Bahrain in retaliation for an attack on a telecommunications tower in Sirik. US Central Command said its forces intercepted two Iranian attack drones heading toward Bahrain, reporting no injuries or damage.

The Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and serves as a vital route for international oil shipments.