Iranian report says blasts and fires halted two tankers in Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that explosions and fires have forced two oil tankers to stop in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran's Tasnim news agency. The claim has not been independently verified. The IRGC said the vessels were using an unauthorised route.

Yahoo, The Economic Times, TodayPress.tv and Anadolu Ajansı all carried the Iranian account. Each attributes it to the IRGC or to Tasnim, and the outlets differ on some details.

What we know

• Yahoo reported that Tasnim, citing the IRGC, said explosions aboard two oil tankers and the resulting fires had forced them to stop, and that the vessels had violated Iranian regulations by using unauthorised routes.
• The Economic Times reported that the IRGC said in a statement that one of the vessels, a super tanker, struck a naval mine and exploded, and that the second tanker, which the Guards said was under the escort of the American military, also had an incident.
• TodayPress.tv, citing Tasnim, reported that the Iranian military said the vessels were operating with their navigation systems switched off, that the second tanker tried to cross under the protection of US fighter jets, and that the incident occurred off the strait's southern coast.
• Anadolu Ajansı reported that the IRGC Navy said both tankers had switched off their navigation and identification systems, and that it warned the unauthorised passage remained unsafe and threatened similar consequences for vessels cooperating with the US military that used the route.
• The Economic Times reported that Tehran has made multiple announcements in recent weeks saying ships had caught fire in the strait, and that it has said some vessels struck mines, although the US military recently claimed all mines had been cleared from the waterway.

What we don't know yet

• The Economic Times reported that the Guards did not specify the names or origins of the tankers, and Anadolu Ajansı said the statement did not identify their flags or operators.
• Anadolu Ajansı reported that the statement gave no details on possible casualties or the condition of the crews.
• Anadolu Ajansı described the second tanker's incident as unspecified, and said there was no immediate confirmation from the US military of the alleged involvement of American fighter jets.
• Yahoo reported that the account could not initially be independently verified.

Background

Qatar Standard reported in October that the United States and Iran had each claimed control of the strait, and that Al Jazeera and the New York Post said October had seen the most ship attacks since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28. Earlier, Qatar Standard reported in September that eight US Marines were injured when an Iranian anti-ship cruise missile struck a vessel in the strait, according to US officials cited by NBC News.