TEHRAN: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said late Sunday that a tanker struck a naval mine south of the Strait of Hormuz and caught fire.
According to its statement, the explosion hit the engine room while the vessel attempted to leave the waterway. The navy claimed the tanker had disabled its positioning and navigation systems before using a southern route Tehran considered unauthorised.
It warned of a “firm response” against vessels operating without navigation and identification systems. However, the statement did not name the tanker or provide casualty figures or a damage assessment.
Iranian forces have issued similar accounts of tanker mine strikes in recent days, but the supplied reports differ on their number and timing.
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Meanwhile, US Central Command said 97% of vessels attempting to cross the strait had avoided strikes by Iranian projectiles. That assessment did not address the latest claim of a mine.
Read: US-Iran War Disrupts Oil Routes Through Hormuz and Red Sea
Separately, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s seven-day proposal to reopen the waterway remained available if Washington accepted Tehran’s conditions.
