The Library Media — National & World · World Desk
Iran Says Two Oil Tankers Were Hit by Mines in the Strait of Hormuz
By Maya Wilson
Photo: DVIDSHUB / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Friday that two oil tankers were hit by mines in the Strait of Hormuz after crossing the strategic waterway without authorisation from Iranian authorities, according to AFP reporting carried by CNA. The claim has not been independently confirmed.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the vessels had entered the strait without obtaining permission from Tehran and were subsequently targeted.
“Two oil tankers crossed the Strait of Hormuz this morning without obtaining permission from Iranian authorities, and were hit by mines,” the Guards said, according to the AFP report.
The IRGC added: “Following warnings from the Guards’ Navy, the tankers were targeted by mines.”
The account was presented as a statement by the Iranian Guards, and the available reporting did not independently establish that the vessels were hit by mines or confirm the circumstances described by the IRGC.
No names for the two tankers were provided. The reporting did not identify their flags, owners or cargoes, and gave no information about the extent of any damage.
No casualties were reported in the available account, but the reporting did not establish whether anyone aboard was injured or killed. It also did not say what happened to the vessels after the alleged mine strikes, including whether they continued their journeys, required assistance or remained in the strait.
No independent confirmation reported
No response from the United States had been reported at the time of publication. There was also no reported statement from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations service, shipping companies or other governments.
The available reporting included no independent confirmation or denial of Iran’s account.
The absence of publicly reported responses leaves key elements of the incident unverified, including the identities of the vessels and whether mines were responsible for any strikes. No additional evidence establishing the Guards’ version of events was included in the reporting.
This was the second claim made by the IRGC concerning the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. The Library Media covered an earlier Guards claim the same day as an attributed claim.
Strait at centre of wartime tensions
The latest Iranian claim comes amid continuing tensions in and around the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of war between Iran and the United States in February.
Since the war began, Tehran has insisted that vessels obtain its authorisation to cross the strait and has attacked ships that do not comply, according to the context provided in the AFP reporting.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes. It carries about a fifth of the world’s oil output, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Iran’s claim that two tankers were hit by mines therefore concerns a waterway of major importance to global oil supplies. But the details needed to establish what happened in Friday’s reported incident — including the identities and condition of the vessels and any consequences of the alleged strikes — had not been publicly reported.
The claim remains unverified in the available reporting, and no independent account, confirmation or denial had been reported.
Maya Wilson
World Desk, The Library Media
UPDATE — Iran now describes three tanker incidents. In a statement carried by the Iranian state broadcaster early on Saturday, the Revolutionary Guards’ navy said two more oil tankers had struck a mine in the south of the strait. The Guards said the two tankers “had switched off their radar and positioning systems and were secretly attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorised route” before they “exploded and caught fire after striking a naval mine.” The earlier Friday incident involved a single tanker in the northern part of the strait, which the Iranian navy said struck a mine, caught fire and was forced to stop — three tankers in total across the two statements.
The Guards also widened their warning: “The passage of all types of cargo, oil, gas and military vessels through the Strait of Hormuz must be authorised by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Navy,” and any vessel transiting in violation of its orders — or running dark on an unauthorised route — “will be treated as an enemy vessel.”
Update, Saturday, November 14: Iran’s navy said three oil tankers caught fire on Saturday after hitting naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state media reported by Reuters. One tanker struck a mine in the eastern Strait on Saturday morning, and two others struck mines later in the day; Iran had earlier put the number at two tankers. The account is Iran’s, and the mine strikes have not been independently confirmed.
No tanker name, flag, owner or crew detail has been given for any of the three, and no response from the United States, the UKMTO or any shipping company has been reported. The claims remain Iran’s alone, unconfirmed independently. The United States says its Fifth Fleet and Central Command are running continuous patrols and have cleared the main shipping routes through the strait.
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