🔶 IRGC: Supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil hit a mine in the Strait of Hormuz

The IRGC Navy announced in a statement on Friday, 24 Mehr (16 October), that a supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil in the Strait of Hormuz, as a result of striking a naval mine, suffered a severe explosion and a fire.

According to IRNA, the IRGC said in its statement that the tanker “used deceptive maneuvers and received support from U.S. military forces in an effort to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without authorization.” The IRGC also claimed that the strategic waterway remains closed.

The German news agency also reported, by publishing this news, that Iran’s claims about the incident have not yet been independently confirmed, and the extent of the damage, the scale of the fire, and the status of the tanker’s crew are unclear.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and the British Maritime Trade Operations Organization have also not made any comments about the incident as of the time this report was published.

The Strait of Hormuz, which is 35 to 40 kilometers wide at its narrowest point, has become one of the main hotspots of tension between Tehran and Washington since the war began in late February 2026.

The German news agency writes that, since the start of the war, the Islamic Republic has largely disrupted maritime traffic in this important waterway for the global trade of oil and liquefied natural gas by threatening and attacking ships, and has also been accused of laying mines in parts of it.

The United States, too, is trying to completely cut off the Islamic Republic’s oil revenues by imposing a naval blockade on Iran.