Iranupdated 1h ago3 min read
IRGC Mines Set Two Tankers Ablaze South Of Strait Of Hormuz, Guards Say
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IRGC says two oil tankers struck mines south of Strait of Hormuz and caught fire. IRGC claims passage through mined route is illegal and assets will be set ablaze.
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Mines, Tankers, and Drone
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said two oil tankers were set ablaze and brought to a halt south of the Strait of Hormuz after hitting Iranian mines, and the Guards did not say when the tankers were hit. The IRGC also claimed that an air defence system shot down a US MQ-9 drone over the strait on Monday night, while a US official speaking to US media outlets dismissed the claim as untrue. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said, "In practice we have shown that we absolutely do not leave any blow unanswered," in response to reports that Washington had urged Iran to hold back in the event of a strike on Kuh Kalang.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Abbas Araghchi said Washington was responsible for insecurity in the strait, and he said Iran has sought to blockade the waterway during the war launched by the US and Israel in February. Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organisation, said about 6,000 seafarers have been stranded in the strait since the war began.
Competing Claims and Denials
The IRGC said the tankers tried to use what Iran designates an unauthorised route through the strait's southern section near the Omani coast, and the IRGC said, "two offending tankers were set on fire and brought to a standstill," after mines exploded. UK Maritime Trade Operations reported on Tuesday that it had received an account of "an incident between an oil tanker and military forces" on Monday, about 121 nautical miles east of the Omani city of Duqm, and UKMTO reported no damage or casualties and did not identify the vessel. JMIC said in an advisory issued October 18 that on 17 Oct the IRGC Navy claimed two supertankers had struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz, "there is no substantiation to these claims," and the assessment covered developments through October 18.
CENTCOM said, "No ships have hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz," describing Iran’s announcement as an attempt to intimidate commercial shipping through disinformation. gCaptain said the IRGC’s latest announcements did not identify vessels or provide independently verifiable evidence, and it said the Guards also did not make clear when the two tankers were allegedly hit.
Stakes for Shipping and Talks
Euronews said Iran has no recognised authority under international maritime law to restrict or authorise passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and it said the strait is subject to the right of transit passage under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Arsenio Dominguez told Fox News Digital that the traffic separation scheme still had mines, and he said, "we cannot guarantee that a vessel that intends to transit that route will not be hit by a mine." Fox News Digital said the IMO Secretary-General explained that only the route adopted in 1968 is approved and recognized for IMO, and he said, "There's only one route that should be used for transit, but it's not clear of mines right now, so it's not safe."
Euronews said diplomatic efforts between Iran and the United States have stalled over issues including the future of the Strait of Hormuz, and it said Pakistan has played a key mediating role in attempts to end the war. Fox News Digital said Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and a former Revolutionary Guard commander, said Tehran considered Washington's latest response to negotiations "insufficient," and it said Iran had submitted a proposal to Washington through Qatar outlining conditions under which the Strait of Hormuz could reopen within seven days.