Two Tankers and Tugboat Catch Fire in Strait of Hormuz, Iran Says

One of the tankers hit a naval mine while attempting to pass through the “illegal southern passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” the state-run Iranian news agency Fars reported, citing the Revolutionary Guard.

In the second case, a supertanker was reported to have “stopped under heavy fire.”

“A tugboat approaching the supertanker to put out the fire also caught fire,” the Revolutionary Guard said, adding that it had seized two American drones through “electronic warfare.”

Since the start of the Iran war at the end of February, maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been severely restricted. Iran’s navy has blocked the strait and attacked ships, while the United States has imposed a naval blockade targeting Iranian ports.