Iran Guards say two tankers caught fire in Hormuz

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by state media Friday that two oil tankers caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, a day after Tehran claimed five other tankers had similar fates.

Since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28, Tehran has sought to limit traffic through the strategic waterway, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption.

The United States has in response imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and escorted tankers through the strait.


US Central Command said last month that it had helped Gulf countries export 1.5 billion barrels of oil via Hormuz since the summer and has recently said that all mines have been cleared from the waterway.

"Two violating oil tankers -- one east of the Strait of Hormuz and the other within the Strait itself -- that attempted to transit via an unauthorised route struck mines," the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological arm of Iran's military, said in a statement carried by state TV.

"The two tankers had deactivated all of their navigation and identification systems and were attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz... with the support of the aggressor and terrorist American military, but following the collision with mines, they caught fire and were brought to a stop," the statement added.

On Thursday, Iranian media reported that five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz in similar incidents.

There has, however, been no confirmation of any of these incidents from maritime officials.