The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that two oil tankers struck mines it had laid in the Strait of Hormuz, setting both vessels on fire. The claim comes as Tehran escalates its war of words with Washington, threatening further attacks on shipping and undersea infrastructure.
In a statement, the IRGC said the tankers attempted to use what Iran unilaterally designates an unauthorised route through the strait's southern section, near the Omani coast. “With the explosion of mines laid by the IRGC Navy in the illegal passage south of the Strait of Hormuz, two offending tankers were set on fire and brought to a standstill,” the statement read. Neither vessel was named, nor was the precise location disclosed.
Under international maritime law, Iran has no recognised authority to restrict or authorise passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway is subject to the right of transit passage under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a principle that European and other maritime nations have repeatedly upheld.
Unverified claims and regional fallout
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on Tuesday that it had received an account of “an incident between an oil tanker and military forces” on Monday, some 121 nautical miles east of the Omani city of Duqm. UKMTO reported no damage or casualties and did not identify the vessel.
The IRGC also claimed its air defence system shot down a US MQ-9 drone over the strait on Monday night. A US official, speaking to US media outlets, dismissed the claim as untrue. Meanwhile, some Iranian domestic outlets, including the state-affiliated Fars agency, reported that a US airstrike hit a naval base in Konarak in Sistan and Baluchistan province on Monday, wounding two military personnel and targeting an air defence installation. Washington has not commented on the report.
IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mojabi threatened on Monday to target undersea internet cables in the Gulf and the strait, saying “new weapons will be unveiled” with the aim of, in his words, removing US military presence from the region. Such threats have raised concerns among European tech and telecom firms, which rely on Gulf data routes for connectivity with Asia.
“We do not leave any blow unanswered”
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran would retaliate against any US attack. “In practice we have shown that we absolutely do not leave any blow unanswered,” he said in response to reports that Washington had urged Iran to hold back in the event of a strike on Kuh Kalang. “A US attack on Kuh Kalang and Iran not responding is fantasy and empty talk,” Baghaei added.
The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency quoted an unnamed Iranian security source as saying uncertainty over decision-making authority in Washington was complicating negotiations, naming Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump administration negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as figures whose respective roles remained unclear to Iranian officials.
Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organisation, said about 6,000 seafarers have been stranded in the strait since the war began. He criticised shipowners for continuing to send crews into the area. The situation has drawn attention from European shipping companies and insurers, who are already grappling with widening security threats beyond cyberattacks.
US media have previously reported that the Pentagon was deploying the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East, adding approximately 10,000 sailors and Marines to the region by the end of November. Washington has not confirmed the deployment.
The escalating tensions have already pushed up oil prices, as reported attacks in the Strait of Hormuz stoke supply fears. European economies, heavily reliant on Gulf oil and gas, are watching closely. The broader conflict between the US and Iran is also a concern for European security, as the two nations edge toward wider conflict.
