Iran Reports Tanker Hit by Naval Mine Near Hormuz

By Staff, Agencies

Iran’s Navy says a tanker caught fire and was immobilized after striking a naval mine while sailing through 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 shipowners for risking their vessels based on what it called the “nonsense” of US President Donald Trump.

The announcement came hours after the Islamic Revolution Guard (IRG) Navy reported that two oil tankers attempting an unauthorized passage through the southern Strait of Hormuz had exploded and caught fire after striking Iranian naval mines.

According to a statement issued late Friday by the IRG Navy Public Relations Office, the vessels were attempting to secretly navigate a prohibited route through the strategic waterway. The tankers had allegedly disabled their radar and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) to avoid detection.

The incident was described as the latest in a series of failed attempts by smugglers and US-linked vessels to bypass Iran’s maritime restrictions in the Persian Gulf.

Following the US-“Israeli” war of aggression against Iran, which began on February 28, Tehran imposed comprehensive restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies transit.

Under Iran’s newly enforced Hormuz mechanism, vessels must obtain explicit authorization from Iranian authorities to ensure safe passage.

Despite repeated assurances from the US military that it would provide naval escorts and protect commercial shipping, the statement said vessels relying on Washington’s security guarantees had been halted, struck by mines, or destroyed.

Iranian commanders have repeatedly argued that American promises of protection have proven ineffective, exposing what they describe as Washington’s inability to secure the waterway or overcome Iran’s strategic control over the passage.