Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement carried by state media on Friday that two tankers hit mines and caught fire in or near the Strait of Hormuz, a day after Tehran said five other tankers had met a similar fate.
“Two violating oil tankers – one east of the Strait of Hormuz and the other inside the Strait itself – which attempted to transit via an unauthorized route hit mines,” the IRGC said in a statement, according to state media.
“These two tankers had disabled all their navigation and identification systems. Supported by the aggressive and terrorist US military, they attempted to exit the Strait of Hormuz via an unauthorized route; however, after hitting mines, they caught fire and were immobilized,” the statement said.
On Thursday, Iranian media reported that five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz in similar incidents.
None of the incidents have been confirmed by maritime authorities, and President Trump has accused Iran of inventing such attacks to drive up global energy prices.
However, a British naval agency said earlier this week that despite repeated assurances from the United States that shipping lanes through the strait were open and safe, there had been at least 30 attacks on commercial shipping in the region in October alone, a record.
Since the war began with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran has sought to control traffic across the strait, a key passage through which, before the war, about a fifth of the world’s crude oil supplies typically passed. In response, the United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.
The U.S. military has escorted tankers through the strait, which along with other routes has helped return shipping from the Gulf to, or at least close to, prewar levels, but the ships continue to be attacked.
CBS/AFP
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