In brief
The IRGC announced that two oil tankers and a tugboat were engulfed in separate fires in the southern portion of the strait after reports of naval mines. The Guard Corps also claimed it seized two uncrewed combat drones during a separate operation. The incidents underscore Iran’s tighter restrictions on the waterway, imposed in late February after U.S. and Israeli strikes.
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Thursday that three vessels, including two supertankers, caught fire while crossing the Strait of Hormuz through an "illegal and unauthorized" route south of the waterway. The report, issued via the IRGC’s official media outlet Sepah News, said the incidents occurred the night before the statement was released.
The first incident involved a large oil tanker that reportedly struck naval mines as it entered the unauthorized corridor. According to the IRGC, the impact ignited engines and a fuel spill, causing a serious blaze that the Guard said threatened the vessel’s stability as it proceeded toward the Strait’s southern entrance.
The second event took place east of the main part of the strait. Another oil tanker, leaving the waterway through the same prohibited passage, stopped abruptly after a sudden and severe fire erupted amid its stern section. The vessel’s crew allegedly attempted to suppress the flames but were ultimately forced to abandon the ship due to the intensity of the fire.
A tugboat that had approached the burning tanker to assist with containment operations was itself engulfed in flames. The IRGC statement noted that the tug’s hull was damaged, but the crew was safely evacuated before the craft suffered critical structural damage.
In a separate operation, the IRGC’s naval electronic warfare unit claimed to have taken control of two low‑cost uncrewed combat attack system drones, described by the Guard as "invading." The drones landed unharmed after the electronic burst, the IRGC said, asserting that the seizure demonstrated the forces’ defensive capabilities.
The Guard’s report comes amid heightened tensions in the region; Iran tightened its grip on the Strait on Feb. 28 by barring navigation for vessels linked to Israel and the United States following joint strikes on Iranian territory. In a statement, an IRGC spokesperson said the U.S. was “imposing very heavy insurance costs on American taxpayers and its allies in West Asia” by provoking vessels into violating the prohibited route and passing through mined waters.
"The United States is imposing very heavy insurance costs on American taxpayers and its allies in West Asia by enticing vessels into committing violations and passing through the mined route," said an IRGC spokesperson in the Sepah News release.
Following the statement, the IRGC reiterated that it had neutralized the drone threat and condemned U.S. policies aimed at coercing maritime traffic through the corridor. Whether the claims of naval mines and the subsequent fires can be independently verified remains unclear, and no international maritime agency has confirmed the incidents as of yet.
