Iranupdated 1m ago3 min read
IRGC Navy Says Naval Mine Hit Super Tanker in Strait of Hormuz, Major Fire
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IRGC says a crude oil supertanker hit a sea mine in Hormuz, sparking fire. Tanker exited the Strait of Hormuz after impact with navigation systems off.
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Hormuz attacks resume
Strikes around the Strait of Hormuz picked up again as mediated efforts to end the US-Israel war on Iran remained deadlocked, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy saying a crude oil supertanker hit a naval mine and suffered a major fire while using an unauthorised route with navigation systems turned off.
Habibollah Sayyari, chief of staff and joint coordinator of the army, told state television that, “We have struck blows against enemy vessels. If anything else happens against Iran, we will strike them again,” after UKMTO reported incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman.
UKMTO reported that ship masters in the vicinity of Ras al-Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), had been directed via radio broadcast overnight to move from their anchorages.
UKMTO also reported that an unidentified projectile struck a tanker heading outbound through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday afternoon, as the UAE said its coastguard rescued 22 crew members after a fire broke out at an unnamed tanker close to its shores.
CENTCOM released footage of a fighter jet bombing the stern of a Panama-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman and disabling its propulsion to enforce its naval blockade of Iran’s southern ports.
Mine, projectile, and warnings
The IRGC Navy said a super tanker exploded and caught fire in its engine room after striking a sea mine in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz earlier on Sunday, and it said the vessel switched off all of its navigation systems and violated passage rules. The IRGC Navy warned that all vessels in the Strait of Hormuz that switch off their navigation and identification systems would be identified as hostile and would face a forceful and decisive response. The New York Post said a supertanker caught fire when it was hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, and it quoted the IRGC as reiterating threats that “A devastating fire is the fate of any tanker that violates the rules and disregards security in the Strait of Hormuz,”.
CENTCOM said it disabled a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman after the crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to bypass the US naval blockade on Iranian ports along the Strait of Hormuz, and it identified the Panama-flagged merchant vessel as Ocean Molica. CENTCOM said Ocean Molica left an Iranian port and attempted to traverse into the Arabian Sea before being struck in the stern by a precision munition launched by a fighter jet, while UKMTO reported the crew was safe and damage assessment and environmental impact were unknown at the time of the report.
Talks, blockade, and nuclear stakes
Iran demanded a return to a now-collapsed memorandum of understanding agreed in June, and it also demanded Washington’s backing of an already finalised Iran-Oman deal that designates temporary coordinated entry and exit routes for vessels transiting the strait. US Vice President JD Vance said Iran must make a “meaningful” reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity to end the war, while Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said, “The achievements of our indigenous nuclear industry cannot be stopped,” during a speech on Sunday. Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told reporters on Sunday that authorities plan on using military and diplomatic avenues to get what they want, and he said, “The Islamic Republic will decisively pursue the country’s interests,”.
The PressTV account of Mohammad Mokhber said the Americans would be “drowned in the Strait of Hormuz,” and it added that Islamic Iran would strike the enemy beyond its borders if the US decided to renew aggression. CENTCOM said that since the US reimposed the blockade in mid-July, it had disabled four commercial vessels, turned around 135 ships and destroyed 10 tankers linked with Iran, while Kpler data cited by CNBC showed average crude passing through the strait for the week ended October 7 was 8.5 million barrels per day, roughly 40 percent below the normal level.