Hormuz Mine Blast Sets 2 Tankers, Tugboat Ablaze, IRGC Says
(MENAFN) Two oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in separate incidents in the Strait of Hormuz after vessels tried to use what Tehran calls an unauthorized route, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Thursday.
In a statement carried by the country’s state news agency, the Guard said a large oil tanker hit a mine late Wednesday while trying to transit an “unauthorized route” south of the strait. The vessel burst into flames and stopped moving, it said.
A second supertanker caught fire in a separate incident as it left the route in the strait’s eastern section, the statement said. A tugboat that approached to help put out the blaze also ignited.
The Guard said its navy’s electronic warfare unit had “taken control of two Lucas-type aircraft” that it described as “intruding.” It also claimed its navy retains control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran blamed the United States, accusing it of “encouraging vessels to violate restrictions and pass through a mined route,” and said the resulting damage would “impose heavy insurance costs on US taxpayers and regional allies.”
The Guard warned that any attempt to breach the rules governing passage through the waterway would “lead to further financial losses and political setbacks for Washington.”
The strait, which lies between Iran and Oman, is among the world’s most strategically vital shipping lanes, carrying large volumes of Gulf oil and gas exports to global markets.
The backdrop is a war the US and Israel launched against Iran on Feb. 28. A ceasefire was reached in April, but fighting between Washington and Tehran resumed in July as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict stalled.
In a statement carried by the country’s state news agency, the Guard said a large oil tanker hit a mine late Wednesday while trying to transit an “unauthorized route” south of the strait. The vessel burst into flames and stopped moving, it said.
A second supertanker caught fire in a separate incident as it left the route in the strait’s eastern section, the statement said. A tugboat that approached to help put out the blaze also ignited.
The Guard said its navy’s electronic warfare unit had “taken control of two Lucas-type aircraft” that it described as “intruding.” It also claimed its navy retains control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran blamed the United States, accusing it of “encouraging vessels to violate restrictions and pass through a mined route,” and said the resulting damage would “impose heavy insurance costs on US taxpayers and regional allies.”
The Guard warned that any attempt to breach the rules governing passage through the waterway would “lead to further financial losses and political setbacks for Washington.”
The strait, which lies between Iran and Oman, is among the world’s most strategically vital shipping lanes, carrying large volumes of Gulf oil and gas exports to global markets.
The backdrop is a war the US and Israel launched against Iran on Feb. 28. A ceasefire was reached in April, but fighting between Washington and Tehran resumed in July as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict stalled.
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