Iran says four tankers hit mines in Strait of Hormuz

Tehran — Iran's armed forces say four tankers caught fire after striking mines in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that normally carries about one-fifth of global oil and gas consumption. The claims, reported by CNA and The Hindu, came a day after the US military said it had cleared key routes through the strait.

"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 Guards Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on Thursday. Iran's army later said a fourth tanker caught fire east of the strait after hitting mines while "operating in a restricted and dangerous area".

The Guards said the first three vessels had "switched off all their radar and navigation systems" and ignored warnings from the IRGC navy. It was not immediately clear when the incidents occurred or which flags the tankers were flying.

The British maritime agency UKMTO reported separately that a tanker in the strait, about 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, was approached by a small boat which attached two explosive devices to its hull. The blasts caused an engine-room fire that was later extinguished; the crew were safe, Al Jazeera reported. UKMTO also reported a dhow that caught fire and sank, and another tanker struck by an unknown projectile. Whether any of these were the vessels Iran described is not yet known.

The incidents sharpen a direct dispute between Tehran and Washington. US Central Command insists all mines in "primary transit routes" have been cleared, and said on Sunday it had helped Gulf countries export 1.5 billion barrels of oil via Hormuz since the summer. IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi challenged that on X: "Prove your Hormuz mine-clearing claim with independent evidence, not statements!"

Iran has severely restricted traffic through the strait since the war began on Feb 28, and considers ships using the southern corridor near the Omani coast unauthorised. The United States has responded with a blockade on Iranian ports while escorting tankers through the waterway. The IRGC also said, in a separate statement, that it had captured a US MQM-170 reconnaissance drone in the western strait.

For the crews and shipowners still moving cargo through the Gulf, the immediate question is which account of the waterway to trust — and whether the US escort effort can hold the routes open. Tehran has told them plainly not to heed what the Guards called CENTCOM's "delusions on social media".