OMM Newsroom
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said on Friday that two supertankers struck naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz, causing explosions and fires that disabled their engines and forced their crews to abandon the vessels, Anadolu Agency reported.
In a statement carried by state news agency IRNA, the IRGC Navy said the tankers had tried to pass through an “unauthorized route” in the southern part of the strategic waterway.
The explosions and intense fires in the ships’ engine rooms left both vessels disabled and stranded, the statement said. They were carrying a combined cargo of more than 4.5 million barrels of crude oil.
The crews later abandoned the tankers near the Strait of Hormuz’s southern coast, according to the statement.
The strait connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and is a major route for global oil shipments.
Iran has repeatedly warned vessels against using routes it considers unauthorized amid an ongoing confrontation with the US over maritime security and control of the waterway. The US and Israel launched a war against Iran in late February, and the conflict remains unresolved despite a ceasefire and a memorandum to agree on a final peace deal.
The US and Israel are said to have planned renewed attacks after the midterm elections on Nov. 3.
