Iran: Two vessels hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz

 

TT-EFE

Published 08:56

 

A man watches ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz off the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas. Image from last weekend. Photo: Amirhosein Khorgooi/Isna via AP/TT

Two more vessels have struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

The two tankers reportedly exploded after hitting naval mines while traveling along an “unauthorized” route in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Revolutionary Guard claims that the vessels had switched off their navigation and identification systems and, with military support from the United States, were attempting to pass through the strait covertly.

The origin of the vessels is unclear. According to a statement from Iran, one of them was still on fire as of Sunday.

Over the past three weeks, Iran has reported around 30 incidents involving vessels in the Strait of Hormuz—at least 20 of which were caused by mines. On Monday, the U.S. military command, CENTCOM, accused Iran of killing more than 20 civilian mariners at sea in recent months.

Control over the Strait of Hormuz has been a point of contention since the conflict between Iran and the United States began.