IRGC: Two oil tankers attempting an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz hit mines and are burning

The Navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on the evening of November 7 that two oil tankers attempting to pass through an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz had struck naval mines and caught fire.

According to the statement, one of the tankers hit a mine in the area east of the Strait of Hormuz and the other inside the strait itself. The IRGC said both tankers, after committing numerous violations and switching off their navigation and positioning systems, attempted to pass through the strait's unauthorized route, exploded upon striking a mine and are now engulfed in a very intense fire.

The statement gave no information on the tankers' names, flags, crews or possible casualties.

Earlier on the same day, the Navy of the Iranian Army had also said that an oil tanker which ignored warnings, moved in a prohibited and dangerous area east of the Strait of Hormuz and switched off its navigation systems struck a naval mine, caught fire and stopped moving. The army's statement stressed that the same fate awaits all vessels moving in prohibited areas in disregard of warnings.

The Iranian side has made similar announcements before: on October 18 and November 2 it also said that two tankers had caught fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz lies between Iran and Oman and connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman; about one fifth of the world's seaborne oil passes through it. Earlier in the day, Iraq's foreign minister said Iraq had resumed oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz following understandings with Washington and Tehran.