Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said naval mines destroyed four oil tankers on a route south of the Strait of Hormuz, adding to its claims of attacks on ships in the area.
The IRGC described the route as prohibited. In a statement published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), it said the tankers remained on fire and two other vessels had been halted.
The Guards also claimed their Aerospace Force shot down an MQ-9 drone over the strait at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday (01:00 UTC Wednesday). They described it as the 56th drone of that type they had brought down.
The statement did not identify any of the six vessels. It also did not identify the drone’s operator.
The Guards have made similar allegations before. In an earlier account of three tankers catching fire near Hormuz, the IRGC said the vessels had ignored naval warnings and taken a route it called unauthorized.
