IRGC says tankers struck sea mines in Strait of Hormuz after U.S. declared route cleared

Incident reported by Iran's IRGC

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that two tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz without Iran's approval struck mines and caught fire, according to a statement carried by the IRGC's press service and reported by TASS. The statement said the vessels, 'at the instigation of the US Army, disembarked their crews and were handed over to American agents for passage along an illegal route, hit mines, exploded, stopped, and were engulfed in flames.'

A separate account, reported by UPI, described a supertanker that struck two sea mines, citing a statement from the IRGC Navy carried by semi-official Tasnim News Agency. According to that statement, the unidentified tanker struck the mines, caught fire and came to a stop. The IRGC Navy said the vessel had attempted to pass through an 'illegal route south of the Strait of Hormuz'.

The IRGC Navy warned that 'the fate of ships that violate the security regulations of the Strait of Hormuz will be no different from this,' and stressed that compliance with its regulations for passage through the strait is mandatory. The IRGC also said, per TASS, that recent S. strikes on southern Iran would in no way weaken the Islamic Republic's control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Context: S. claims of cleared mines

The reports come days after President Donald Trump claimed all mines planted by the IRGC in the strait had been cleared and warned that any ship planting new mines would be 'destroyed,' as reported by UPI. S. Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper echoed that assessment, saying, 'We have successfully cleared sea mines in the strait's international shipping lanes.' UPI noted that neither claim could be independently verified.

The -Iran conflict has for months centered on the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has restricted commercial passage through with mines, drones and artillery since the start of the war, according to UPI. The S. military has assisted nearly 1,500 commercial vessels through the strait in recent months, carrying nearly​ 750 million barrels of crude oil, according to Adm. Cooper. Since the blockade resumed in mid-July, S. forces have turned around​ 75 vessels attempting to run it and disabled three, UPI reported.

Additional developments

UPI also reported that S. forces struck a pair of rocket launchers on an island is in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, describing it as the first S. military action against Iran in weeks. Additionally, the report noted that the latest Joint Maritime Information Center advisory, issued through the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations office on ​ 25, keeps the strait at a 'SEVERE' threat level, saying deliberate hostile action remains highly likely. UKMTO reported that tankers near Oman were struck by unknown projectiles on ​ 24 and ​ ​25, setting off fires that crews later extinguished.

Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz stood at about​ ​5 million barrels per day Monday, down from more than​ ​20 million before the war, according to Reuters data cited by UPI. Reuters also reported Friday that seven commodity vessels transited the strait on Thursday, down from​ ​17 the day before, based on preliminary shipping data.

Iran and Oman separately announced this week that they were discussing a temporary joint navigation corridor anda joint mine-clearance project, UPI reported.