The Iran war is heating up again as the
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said four oil tankers have caught fire and exploded in the Strait of Hormuz while travelling along “unauthorised routes”.
The IRGC’s Navy has issued statements on four incidents involving supertankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
It said two of them hit mines late in the day while navigating through a part of the waterway that Iranian authorities have not authorised for passage. Those tankers were carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil each.
Two other tankers were also involved in similar incidents earlier in the day. One of them hit a mine along the southern route that the Iranian side considers unauthorised.
The Iranians are saying that any ship or tanker crossing the Strait of Hormuz should coordinate in advance with the IRGC, particularly with the authorities in charge of controlling and managing the strait.
It sends a strong message to the US that Iran is still in control of the Strait of Hormuz and that it is not about to relinquish that control, despite warnings from the American side.
Oman’s navy said it has rescued 25 crew members from a Panama-flagged commercial vessel hit off the coast of Musandam in the Strait of Hormuz.
