Iran: Three ships on fire in the Strait of Hormuz

 

TT-AFP

 

Published 10.50

 

Many vessels are wary of passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Pictured here are some ships at anchor near Bandar Abbas, Iran. Photo: Amirhosein Khorgooi/Isna via AP/TT

Three ships that defied Iranian instructions have “exploded and caught fire” in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The IRGC statement does not specify which vessels are involved. However, ever since the United States launched its war against Iran last winter, Iranian authorities have sought to control maritime traffic through the narrow strait connecting the Persian Gulf to the open seas.

According to the IRGC, the three vessels had switched off their navigation systems, hoping to slip through undetected via “the unauthorized southern route”—in other words, through Omani waters.

The United States is urging shipping companies to use that very southern route, while Iran demands that all traffic pass further north, through Iranian waters.