Tehran: Iranian naval forces have claimed that three oil tankers caught fire after striking naval mines in and around the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday (local time), warning other vessels against entering restricted maritime areas.
According to the Iranian state broadcaster Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said two oil tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz without authorisation had exploded and caught fire after hitting naval mines.
In a statement, the IRGC Navy claimed the vessels were attempting to navigate the strategically important waterway secretly, with their navigation systems and automatic identification systems switched off.
"An hour ago, two offending oil tankers, which were secretly attempting to transit the unauthorised Strait of Hormuz with their navigation and automatic identification systems turned off, exploded and caught fire after hitting naval mines," the statement said, as reported by IRIB.
The IRGC Navy further claimed that two other tankers attempting to pass through the strait had turned back after receiving warnings from its Naval Traffic Control Centre.
"After the explosion of these two tankers, two other tankers that were attempting to secretly pass through the Strait of Hormuz heeded warnings from the IRGC's Naval Traffic Control Center and returned to the waters of the Persian Gulf," the statement added.
In a separate statement, the Armed Forces Navy reported an incident involving another oil tanker east of the Strait of Hormuz, claiming that the vessel caught fire after striking a naval mine.
According to its public relations department, the tanker had been operating in what it described as an unsafe and prohibited area, despite earlier warnings. It also claimed that the vessel had switched off its tracking and identification systems.
"This morning, an oil tanker that had been operating in the unsafe and prohibited area east of the Strait of Hormuz, ignoring previous warnings and turning off its tracking and identification systems, caught fire and stopped after hitting a naval mine," the statement said.
Warning other shipping operators, the Armed Forces Navy said vessels entering the restricted maritime zone would face similar consequences.
"Without a doubt, any offending tanker that travels in the restricted area east of the Strait of Hormuz will be set on fire by hitting naval mines," it said.
The statement also criticised tanker owners for sending vessels into the restricted area, accusing them of relying on assurances from US President Donald Trump.
"It is unfortunate that tanker owners, without learning from the fate of other offending vessels, trusting the nonsense of the criminal US president, are sending their capital into the mine war and throwing it into the fire," the statement added.
The claims come amid escalating tensions involving Iran, the United States and Israel, with the Strait of Hormuz emerging as a key flashpoint in the ongoing West Asia conflict.