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Hormuz “accident” claim
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said on Sunday that two ships were involved in an “accident” after attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz via an “unsafe route,” while two other vessels were prevented from continuing along the same route.
“Iran says 2 ships involved in ‘accident’ after attempting to transit Hormuz via US ‘unsafe route’ Revolutionary Guards say 2 other ships deterred from continuing their journey Serdar Dincel 19 July 2026•Update: 19 July 2026 ISTANBUL Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that two ships were involved in “an accident” after attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz through an “unsafe route,” while two others were deterred from continuing their journey”
The IRGC Navy alleged that four ships, “with the mischief and support ofAmerican terrorists,” switched off their navigation systems and ignored warnings issued by the IRGC Navy’s Strait of Hormuz Control Base before attempting to leave the strait through an unsafe route.
The IRGC Navy said two of the ships were forced to stop after the incidents, while the remaining two did not continue on the route.
The IRGC Navy reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz remains under its “complete control” and stated that the only safe passage is the designated route announced by the force.
Warnings and counterclaims
Iran’s IRGC Navy framed the four vessels as “violating vessels” backed by “American terrorists,” and said they “switched off their navigation systems and ignored repeated warnings” from the Strait of Hormuz Control Base before attempting to leave through an unsafe route.
The IRGC Navy warned that “vessels influenced by the words of the Americans and enter unsafe routes will certainly face accidents,” while also reiterating that only shipping routes approved by Iranian authorities would be permitted.
In parallel, ANI News reported that earlier on Sunday Iran’s IRGC said it had intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-9 drone in Ahvaz, a city in the Khuzestan region that borders Iraq, state-run Press TV reported.
ANI News also said the development came amid an “eighth consecutive night” of kinetic actions by US Central Command (CENTCOM) targeting Iranian assets, with an official statement released on X describing strikes executed late Saturday under direct authorisation from the White House.
Shipping control and escalation
It repeated that “not a single drop of oil, gas, or chemical fertilizer” would pass through the waterway without prior coordination and authorization, and warned that vessels influenced by “the propaganda of American enemy” would “certainly be involved in incidents.”
ANI News reported that CENTCOM said the July 18 operation was “designed to further degradeIran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” and that it was also “swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night”.
ANI News further stated that the strikes marked an “eighth consecutive night” of kinetic actions against Tehran-backed facilities in the region and that the official tally was 16 US military personnel killed since hostilities escalated on February 28 following joint US-Israeli strikes.
