IRGC claims mines struck 2 tankers violating regulations

Warns of 'far greater cost' if US arbitrary actions continue

An oil and chemical tanker anchored at Fujairah port in the UAE. [Reuters]
An oil and chemical tanker anchored at Fujairah port in the UAE. [Reuters]

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Tuesday (local time) that two oil tankers violating navigation regulations struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz and were forced to halt operations.

According to Yonhap, the IRGC's public affairs office said in a statement that mines laid by the Iranian navy exploded in the southern transit zone of the Strait of Hormuz, causing fires aboard two tankers that had violated regulations and bringing them to a stop.

The IRGC Navy said passing through a mine-laying zone constitutes an illegal act and will ultimately result only in the destruction of the violator's assets.

It warned that if such arbitrary actions by the United States continue, the oil companies involved will have to pay a far greater price.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it had received a report of an incident involving an oil tanker and military personnel approximately 121 nautical miles (224 kilometers) east of Duqm, Oman.

UKMTO added that the incident appeared to involve military personnel approaching the tanker as part of ongoing military activity in the region.

The IRGC also claimed it struck and downed a US military MQ-9 drone conducting reconnaissance over the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night.

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the 19th South Korean oil tanker since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is transporting crude oil to South Korea via the Red Sea, the alternative route.

As of Tuesday morning, one South Korean vessel had loaded crude oil at Yanbu port in Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea and was transiting the Suez Canal bound for South Korea — the 19th such ship to take the Red Sea detour since Iran's war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in late February.


eyre@heraldcorp.com