Iran said at least four oil tankers were set ablaze after hitting naval mines as they tried to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, adding to maritime tensions a day after the US military said it had opened the crucial waterways.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said three tankers exploded and caught fire over 24 hours while attempting to use what it described as an unauthorised southern shipping route.
In the last 24 hours, three offending oil tankers detonated and caught fire after hitting mines when they tried to go through the illegal southern route of the Strait of Hormuz, the IRGC declared in an official statement.
At a later point, Iran’s navy said that a fourth tanker had exploded in the eastern part of the strait after hitting mines in an area that the navy described as hostile and dangerous.
In addition, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) tweeted that a ship was “on fire near Oman” before saying its crew were “safe after the fires have been put out”, according to AFP.
One fifth of the world’s oil usually transits the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which is a key energy route.
