Iran’s Navy announced Saturday that another tanker caught fire and was immobilized after striking a naval mine while sailing through a prohibited area east of the Strait of Hormuz, despite prior warnings.
In a statement, the Navy said the vessel had switched off its tracking and identification systems while transiting the unsafe zone. It warned that any tanker entering the prohibited area would meet the same fate, and criticized owners for risking their assets based on what it called the “nonsense” of US President Donald Trump.
The announcement came hours after the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy reported that two oil tankers attempting a covert, unauthorized transit through the southern Strait of Hormuz exploded and caught fire after hitting Iranian naval mines. The IRGC Navy Public Relations Office said late Friday that the vessels were trying to secretly navigate a prohibited route in the strategic waterway, and had deliberately disabled their radar and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) to evade detection.
The incident is the latest in a series of failed attempts by smugglers and US-linked vessels to bypass Iran’s strict maritime enforcement in the Persian Gulf.
Following the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran that began on February 28, Tehran imposed comprehensive restrictions on the waterway, which carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s global oil supply. Under Iran’s newly enforced Hormuz mechanism, safe passage requires explicit authorization from Iranian authorities.
Despite repeated assurances from the US military that it would provide naval escorts and protect commercial shipping, vessels trusting Washington’s security guarantees have been consistently halted, struck by mines, or destroyed. Iranian commanders have repeatedly warned that American promises of protection have proven hollow, exposing the US military’s inability to secure the waterway or break Iran’s strategic chokehold.
Source: Iranian media (translated and edited by Al-Manar)