Two oil tankers caught hearth in Strait of Hormuz after hitting mines – Iran

News

By Linda Ikeji
8 November 2026, 12:26 pm

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps mentioned on Sunday that two oil tankers caught hearth after hanging naval mines whereas making an attempt to cross the Strait of Hormuz alongside routes Tehran had not authorised, in line with Iran’s state information company, IRNA.

The Guards mentioned one tanker struck a mine within the japanese a part of the strait and the opposite elsewhere within the waterway. The assertion didn’t establish both vessel or give their nationalities. “The two tankers had reportedly committed multiple violations, including switching off their navigation and positioning systems, as they attempted to transit through an unauthorised route,” the Guards mentioned.

Tehran has sharply restricted visitors via the strait for the reason that struggle started in late February, requiring ships to comply with routes permitted by Iranian authorities. The United States responded by imposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports and serving to tankers transit the waterway, which usually carries about one-fifth of the oil consumed globally.

Iranian authorities have issued a number of stories in latest weeks of ships catching hearth within the strait. US Central Command mentioned final month that it had helped Gulf international locations export 1.5 billion barrels of oil via Hormuz for the reason that summer season. It has additionally mentioned that every one mines had been cleared from the waterway.

Separately, IRNA reported late on Saturday that explosions had been heard in a number of elements of southern Iran.

“Sounds resembling explosions were heard in Qeshm, Sirik, Jask, and Bandar Abbas. The cause of the sounds remains unknown,” the company wrote on Telegram. IRNA mentioned officers had confirmed an “impact” within the port metropolis of Jask. The company didn’t hyperlink the stories to the tanker fires.

US President Donald Trump beforehand raised the opportunity of resuming large-scale strikes on Iran however has since backed away from that place. The US navy has continued to hold out occasional restricted strikes.