US denies Iran’s claim that tankers hit mines in Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Saturday that two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a claim the United States military swiftly rejected as hostilities between the two nations entered their seventh consecutive night.

The IRGC said the vessels had been directed by "deceptive American intelligence agencies" into a mined area of the waterway, according to a report by AFP carried by Al-Monitor. US Central Command responded on its X account with a fact-check format post: "CLAIM: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims that two oil tankers have exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting mines in the international waterway. FACT: Like most IRGC claims, this is false."al-monitor+1

The Guards also said on Iranian state television that they had "stopped" four additional ships trying to transit the strait, as Iran reiterated that the waterway remains "completely closed".aa+1

Escalation on Multiple Fronts

The competing claims over the tankers came amid intensifying fighting across the region. Iran accused the US of targeting civilian infrastructure including an airport, a railway station, and two bridges, while Iranian forces struck US-associated military sites in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain. Major General Mohsen Rezaei, a senior military adviser to Iran's supreme leader, warned that Tehran would resume "full-scale offensive operations" if American strikes continued, saying "no political border will be safe".al-monitor

Iran's health ministry reported at least 38 people killed and more than 400 wounded since fighting resumed, while Iranian state news agency IRNA said three people were killed and eight wounded in the southern province of Hormozgan on Saturday alone.al-monitor

Strait Traffic at Multi-Week Low

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz hit a three-week low on Thursday, according to maritime trackers Kpler and MarineTraffic. The strait has been largely closed to commercial shipping since Iran effectively blockaded it at the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran on February 28. A brief reopening in June under a memorandum of understanding collapsed after hostilities resumed in early July, with the US reinstating its naval blockade of Iranian ports on July 15.vpm+1

The US said it has more than 20 Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East. China and Pakistan have called on both sides to stop fighting and resume negotiations.al-monitor+1