IRGC says three tankers hit mines crossing Hormuz Strait

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that its naval mines halted three tankers attempting to travel the Strait of Hormuz via routes considered illegal by Tehran. "Two violating oil tankers were set ablaze and halted due to the explosion of mines planted by the brave sailors of the IRGC Navy at an illegal crossing point in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz," the IRGC said in a statement on its official Sepah News website. The Guard later said in a statement carried by state TV that a third oil tanker "exploded and caught fire after striking a naval mine south of the Strait of Hormuz". The statement added that the tanker, "carrying over 2 million barrels of crude oil, had deactivated all of its radar and navigation systems".