Iran Army says oil tanker hit mines, caught fire east of Hormuz

Iran's army says 'violating' oiler caught fire east of Hormuz Strait after hitting mines

Tehran, Nov 11

The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday as the oil tanker was transiting the "unsafe and forbidden" region east of the waterway, the navy announced in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported. It said that its naval forces are monitoring the strait's eastern waters, stressing that safe passage through the waterway requires coordination with the Iranian armed forces and compliance with maritime regulations.

Separately, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Ali Abdollahi on Wednesday warned the United States and Israel against making any new miscalculation, saying that "any point that serves as a focal point for threats against the existence of the sacred establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran will become a direct target of asymmetric operations."

He said in a message carried by Iranian media that the armed forces would carry out orders issued by the country's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei without hesitation.

On Tuesday, the navy of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said that two "violating" oil tankers suffered massive explosions on the "unauthorized" route in the Strait of Hormuz.

Both tankers had turned off all their navigation and identification systems, caught fire, and were stopped, the navy said in a statement on the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News.

It added that one of the vessels exploded after hitting naval mines, while the other, supported by the "aggressive" US fighter aircraft and seeking to "surreptitiously cross the illegal route", was set on fire following an incident.

The IRGC's navy reiterated the warning that the "unauthorised" route in the strait is "unsafe," and that all those seeking to transit it in cooperation with the "terrorist" US Army would suffer the same fate.

Iran tightened its grip on the strait on February 28, barring safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory.

— IANS