Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said Friday that mines disabled two supertankers near the southern coast of the Strait of Hormuz, with their combined crude cargo exceeding 4.5 million barrels.
The force’s statement, carried by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), said engine-room explosions ignited fires and left both vessels unable to move. It said the crews had left the ships. The navy also said the tankers had attempted to use a route in the southern part of the strait that Tehran considers unauthorized.
The latest account came a day after Iranian state television reported that seven oil tankers had been struck or damaged overnight, quoting an IRGC Navy statement, the Associated Press reported. AP characterized the earlier report as unverified.
In an earlier account, the IRGC Navy said ships had been hit during oil transfers and by mines west of the strait. It accused Washington of directing vessels toward a passage Tehran described as unauthorized and mined, and warned the confrontation could widen, according to EconoTimes’ earlier report.
