Iran’s Guards Say Two Tankers and a Tugboat Burned in Hormuz Overnight

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Thursday that two oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire overnight in the Strait of Hormuz after the tankers used routes Iran calls unauthorized. The claims could not be independently verified, and the Guards did not name the ships, their flags or any casualties.

According to the statement carried by Iran’s Tasnim news agency and reported by Reuters, one large tanker struck a mine while crossing a passage south of the strait and stopped. A second supertanker caught fire while leaving the same route in the eastern part of the waterway, and a tugboat that came to fight the blaze also caught fire, the Guards said.

Drone seizure claim

The Guards also said their navy’s electronic warfare unit took control of two US drones of the LUCAS type and landed them intact. Washington has not confirmed that claim, and it has not confirmed earlier Iranian claims of capturing US drones, Kurdistan24 reported.

Pressure on shipping lanes

The statement accused the United States of pushing ships into mined waters and said releasing Iran’s frozen funds would have cost less than the damage. It also tied the incidents to the Republican losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

Iran has been pressing ships to use a northern passage through its own waters instead of the southern lane designated by Oman, according to Kurdistan24. The Guards claimed on Wednesday that four other tankers hit mines on a banned route, Shafaq News reported.

The announcements come as Washington weighs possible new strikes on Iran after limited US strikes on Qeshm Island on Monday.

Developing: No shipping company, flag state or maritime security agency has yet confirmed the overnight incidents or identified the vessels.

Sources: IRGC statement via Tasnim, Reuters, Shafaq News, Kurdistan24.