Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
Tehran, Nov 6: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Friday claimed that two oil tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz through an "unauthorised" route caught fire after striking naval mines.
In a statement carried by its official news outlet, Sepah News, the IRGC Navy said both vessels had switched off their navigation and identification systems and were attempting to exit the strait through the prohibited route with support from what it described as the "aggressive and terrorist" US Army.
The vessels were stopped after hitting naval mines, the statement claimed.
The IRGC Navy reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz remained closed and said there would be no change in the waterway's status unless the United States met Iran's seven conditions, Xinhua News Agency reported.
It also warned that attempts by US Central Command forces to compel oil tankers to navigate the waterway through the mined route would result only in "consecutive and abject" defeats.
The latest claim follows an earlier statement by the IRGC on Thursday that three vessels, including two supertankers, had caught fire in two separate incidents the previous night while attempting to cross the strait through what it described as an "illegal and unauthorised" route south of the waterway.
According to the statement, an oil tanker in one incident caught fire after striking naval mines while navigating the route. In the second incident, another tanker attempting to leave the strait through the same passage was stopped after catching fire east of the waterway.
A tugboat that had approached the second tanker to help contain the blaze also caught fire, the IRGC said.
In a separate operation, members of the IRGC's naval electronic warfare unit took control of two "invading" low-cost uncrewed combat attack system drones and landed them safely, the statement added.
The IRGC also accused the US government of imposing "very heavy" insurance costs on American taxpayers and its allies in West Asia by encouraging vessels to violate restrictions and navigate through the mined route in the strait.
The claims were made by the IRGC and were not independently verified in the report.