Iran claims two tankers hit mines in Hormuz, releases unverified video

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed Sunday afternoon that two oil tankers struck naval mines while traveling through the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz, triggering explosions and fires. The claim could not be independently verified. The Guards released footage purportedly showing the aftermath of the explosions, with flames and thick smoke rising from the sea. However, no tanker is visible in the video, and it remains unclear when or where the footage was recorded.

According to the Revolutionary Guards' navy, the tankers were attempting to pass through the strategic waterway without Iranian authorization. "The tankers, with support from the U.S. military, switched off all their identification and positioning systems in an attempt to pass through secretly and struck naval mines. They are now on fire," the statement said. The Guards further claimed that one of the vessels was "a giant tanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil" that sank in the southern Persian Gulf following the explosion.

There was no independent confirmation of the alleged sinking. The Iranian statement also warned fishermen operating in the area to exercise extreme caution and follow safety procedures to avoid colliding with debris from the allegedly sunken tankers. "The Revolutionary Guards' navy warns oil tanker owners, shipping company executives and vessel crews to stay away from the restricted area in the Strait of Hormuz," the statement said. "Do not be misled by the U.S. military.

Any vessel that violates the regulations established by Iran for the Strait of Hormuz will face a similar fate." Iran has intensified attacks on oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, apparently seeking to keep global oil prices elevated and increase pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump during negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Although more oil has been shipped out of the Persian Gulf in recent months, partly due to a U.S. Navy-led operation to protect commercial vessels, maritime traffic continues to face significant threats.

On Friday, the United Nations' International Maritime Organization reported that October saw the highest number of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz since the war began. According to the organization's updated figures, 136 maritime incidents were recorded in the strait and the wider Middle East between late February and November 11, leaving 25 crew members dead and others injured or missing. In recent days, Iran has repeatedly claimed that tankers struck naval mines while attempting to cross the strait without authorization.

As in Sunday's announcement, Iranian authorities have sometimes released footage purportedly showing vessels engulfed in flames. Tehran has maintained that the vessels were using supposedly dangerous or unauthorized routes, including the southern passage farther from Iran's coastline, and had switched off their identification systems to conceal their movements. However, considerable doubts remain about Iran's claims that the tankers struck naval mines.

There are suspicions that the accounts are false and that Iranian forces are deliberately attacking vessels with missiles, drones or other weapons, rather than the ships accidentally striking mines as Tehran maintains.