Two oil tankers violating Iran’s maritime restrictions catch fire in Strait of Hormuz: IRGC

IRGC announced on Friday that the two tankers had attempted to leave the Strait of Hormuz through unauthorized passages, despite maritime restrictions imposed by Iran.

The vessels had switched off all their navigation and identification systems while attempting to transit the waterway with the support of the “aggressive and terrorist US military,” the IRGC Navy noted in a statement.

The “violating tankers” struck naval mines and subsequently caught fire, forcing them to stop in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz.

"The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, by God's grace and through the efforts of the brave men of the IRGC Navy, and this situation will not change until the seven conditions (put forward by Iran) are fulfilled," IRGC emphasized.

On Thursday, the IRGC reported that two other oil tankers had caught fire in separate incidents after attempting to use unauthorized routes, while a tugboat that approached one of the vessels to help extinguish the blaze also caught fire.

Iranian officials have repeatedly warned commercial vessels against using routes that Tehran has announced as unauthorized and unsafe, particularly those that bypass its maritime coordination requirements.

The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, is one of the world's most important energy passageways, carrying a substantial share of global seaborne oil supplies.

Iran imposed restrictions on the Strait in response to the latest round of US-Israeli aggression, preventing US and allied ships from navigating the strategic waterway.

The move resulted in a significant increase in oil and energy prices across the globe, especially in the US, forcing Washington and the International Energy Agency (IEA) to release their strategic reserves several times.

Following the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Tehran opened the Strait of Hormuz, but after the US violated the MoU by blockading Iranian ports, Iran’s Armed Forces closed the maritime corridor once again.