Iran says two supertankers disabled by blasts in Hormuz

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said on Thursday, Nov. 12, that two oil supertankers were disabled by large explosions on the night of Wednesday, Nov. 11. It said the ships had ignored warnings against using an "unauthorised route" through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported via Telegraph India. Iranian state media later said the tankers "exploded after hitting naval mines" and aired what it described as video of the incidents.marinelink.com+1

No maritime authority or US official has independently confirmed the account. It is the latest in a series of Iranian claims this week about burning tankers in a waterway that normally carries about one-fifth of the world's oil.english.alarabiya.net

What the IRGC said

The IRGC statement, reported by AFP via Al Arabiya, said the two tankers were "involved in an accident" after traveling the "prohibited" southern route despite repeated warnings. The Guards said the vessels were immobilized by a "violent explosion." "These two supertankers were carrying a combined total of over four million barrels of oil, which are now ablaze – a consequence of the blind trust placed in the aggressive American military," the statement said.english.alarabiya.net

Iranian authorities did not name the tankers, give their nationalities or report any casualties. The Guards also warned that ships cooperating with US forces while sailing with their navigation systems switched off could meet the same fate.shafaq.com

A pattern of disputed claims

The announcement came after days of similar reports from Tehran. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, the Guards said three oil tankers were on fire in the strait. That same day, the Emirati state oil company ADNOC said one of its vessels had been damaged in an attack in UAE waters, and the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) reported a tanker "struck by an unknown projectile" off Oman. It was unclear whether those incidents involved the ships Iran had named. On Wednesday, Iran's regular Army Navy separately reported a tanker fire after a mine strike east of the strait.arabtimesonline.com+1

Iran's explanation that the ships hit mines conflicts with the US military, which recently said all mines had been cleared from the strait. In several earlier cases, UKMTO has attributed damage to tankers to unknown projectiles rather than mines.marinelink.com+1

Wartime shipping restrictions

Since the US-Israeli war with Iran began in February, Tehran has heavily restricted traffic through the strait and told vessels to use routes it approves. Washington has responded with a naval blockade of Iranian ports and has helped tankers make the transit. Earlier in the war, the IRGC Navy said it had struck tankers directly. More recently, it has described ships catching fire after hitting mines on what it calls an unauthorized southern route.omanobserver.om+1