Iran says four tankers on fire after hitting mines in Hormuz

Pakistan's army chief General Syed Asim Munir (L), Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi (3rd-L). [AFP]

At least four tankers have caught fire after hitting mines while attempting to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's armed forces said Thursday, a day after the US military said it had cleared key routes through the waterway.

"Over the past 24 hours, three violating oil tankers exploded and caught fire after striking mines while attempting to pass through the unauthorised southern route of the Strait of Hormuz," Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement.

The vessels had "switched off all their radar and navigation systems" and disregarded warnings from the IRGC navy, the statement said.

It was not immediately clear when the incidents occurred or which flags the tankers were flying.

Later Thursday, Iran's army reported that another tanker had caught fire east of the strait.

"A tanker that was illegally operating in a restricted and dangerous area east of the Strait of Hormuz was damaged and caught fire after striking naval mines, rendering it unable to move," the army said in a statement carried by state television.

In recent weeks, Iran has reported multiple vessels striking sea mines, prompting US Central Command (CENTCOM), which runs military operations in the region, to reaffirm on social media its insistence that all mines in "primary transit routes" have been cleared.

On Thursday, Hossein Mohebi, the IRGC spokesman, challenged the claim, saying, "Prove your Hormuz mine-clearing claim with independent evidence, not statements!" in a post on X.

Since the outbreak of the war on February 28, Iran has severely restricted traffic through the strategic waterway, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil and gas consumption.

In response, the United States has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and helped tankers transit the strait. On Sunday, CENTCOM said it had helped Gulf countries export 1.5 billion barrels of oil via Hormuz since the summer.

Iran considers ships using the southern corridor near the Omani coast unauthorised.

In their statement on Thursday, the Guards said "the IRGC Navy states that the unauthorised route through the Strait of Hormuz is mined, and that vessel owners and crews are responsible for transiting these routes and should not pay attention to CENTCOM's delusions on social media".

Earlier in the day, the British maritime agency UKMTO said it had received a report of a ship on fire in the strait but gave no details about the cause or any casualties.

It was not immediately clear if it was one of the ships referred to by the Guards.

The IRGC also said it had captured a US reconnaissance drone, in a separate statement.

"The IRGC Navy announced that its electronic warfare unit had successfully captured a US MQM-170 drone during an offensive operation in the western Strait of Hormuz," the statement said.