Iran says 3 tankers caught fire in Hormuz

TEHRAN: Three oil tankers caught fire on Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran regularly targets ships that transit without its authorization, the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement.

Since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, Tehran has severely restricted traffic through the strategic waterway, insisting vessels use routes authorized by the Islamic republic.

The United States has in response imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and helped tankers travel the strait, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption.

“Since the early hours of this morning, three non-compliant tankers have exploded and caught fire while they were sailing in the illegal channel in the Strait of Hormuz,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological arm of Iran’s military, said in a statement.

The Guards did not specify the names or nationality of the tankers.

Also on Sunday, British maritime agency UKMTO reported that a tanker had caught fire in the strait — off the coast of Khasab, Oman — a day earlier.

“Military authorities reported the tanker is on fire which has resulted in the evacuation of the crew,” the agency said in a statement, also reporting another tanker struck by an “unknown projectile” on Saturday.

Emirati state media said on Sunday that 22 people had been rescued from a burning vessel in the Gulf of Oman and were in stable condition.

AFP was unable to confirm if the various reports referenced the same incidents.

Tehran has made multiple announcements in recent weeks saying that ships have caught fire in the Hormuz 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.

Iranian state news agency IRNA separately reported late on Saturday that sounds of explosions were heard in parts of the country.

“Sounds resembling explosions were heard in Qeshm, Sirik, Jask and Bandar Abbas. The cause of the sounds remains unknown,” the news agency wrote on Telegram.

Officials confirmed an “impact” in the port city of Jask, the IRNA said.

US President Donald Trump previously talked up the possibility of resuming heavy strikes on Iran but has since walked back from the idea.

Nevertheless, the US military has conducted occasional limited strikes.

Source – Arab News