Iran
Iran’s Navy says a tanker caught fire and was immobilized after hitting a naval mine while sailing in a prohibited area east of the Strait of Hormuz despite previous warnings. In a statement on Saturday, 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 face the same fate, criticizing owners for risking their assets based on the “nonsense” of US President Donald Trump.
The statement came hours after the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy said 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 on Friday that the vessels were attempting to secretly navigate a prohibited route in the strategic waterway. To evade detection, the tankers had deliberately disabled their radar and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS).
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 is responsible for the transit of 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.
Left out here: One side gets the space
The article never gives the US position on the mining of commercial ships, although Press TV's own earlier report noted that the US accuses Iran of attacking commercial ships. Every voice in the piece is the Iranian navy or IRGC Navy, and the article closes on Iranian commanders' claims with nothing set against them.
How we know
- Press TV wrote earlier“The United States has accused Iran of attacking commercial ships but Tehran maintains that it is enforcing maritime security”Iran’s Navy spots burning violating tanker in prohibited Hormuz corridor (opens in a new tab)