TEHRAN (The Thursday Times) — Four tankers caught fire after hitting mines while trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s armed forces said on Thursday, a day after the US military said it had cleared the waterway’s main shipping routes.
“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,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement, adding that the vessels had switched off their radar and navigation systems and ignored warnings. Iran’s army later said a fourth tanker had caught fire east of the strait after hitting mines in “a restricted and dangerous area”.
It was not clear when the incidents happened or which flags the tankers were flying, AFP reported. The British maritime agency UKMTO said it had received reports of a dhow that caught fire and sank, and of a tanker “struck by an unknown projectile” while leaving the strait.
Dispute over the mines
US Central Command has insisted that all mines in the “primary transit routes” have been cleared and has said vessels are being hit by projectiles. IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi challenged the US to “prove your Hormuz mine-clearing claim with independent evidence, not statements”.
Iran has severely restricted traffic through the strait, which normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil, since the war began on February 28. The United States has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and escorted tankers, and said on Sunday it had helped Gulf countries export 1.5 billion barrels of oil through Hormuz since the summer.
The disruption has kept global oil prices high, feeding into Pakistan’s fuel bill, where diesel crossed Rs400 a litre this week.
