Two oil tankers caught fire overnight in the Strait of Hormuz after striking mines, according to a statement by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
According to the Iranian side, the two ships attempted to cross the strategically important waterway by following “unauthorized” routes, having previously deactivated their positioning systems.
The Revolutionary Guards’ statement
“Two oil tankers that had disabled their tracking systems and were attempting to secretly cross the Strait of Hormuz via an unauthorized route exploded and went up in flames after hitting a mine during the night,” the Revolutionary Guards stated in a post on Telegram.
In recent weeks, the Iranian armed forces have stepped up their reports of fires and explosions on ships that, according to their claims, have struck mines in the area.
For its part, Washington maintains that it has cleared a large portion of the maritime passage of mines.
Source: ertnews.gr