BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 5. Two large oil
tankers attempting to pass through an unauthorized route in the
Strait of Hormuz and a tugboat caught fire after reportedly
striking naval mines last night.
According to the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC), two separate incidents occurred in the Strait of Hormuz
last night. In the first, a large oil tanker attempted to use an
unauthorized route through the strait but struck a naval mine and
caught fire, forcing it to stop.
Another large oil tanker also attempted to pass through the
Strait of Hormuz illegally, struck a naval mine and was forced to
halt. A tugboat that arrived to extinguish the fire on the tanker
also caught fire.
"At the same time, the IRGC Navy intercepted, brought down and
seized two US-made Lucas unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)," the
statement said.
US-Iran relations deteriorated sharply on July 8 following
several waves of US airstrikes on Iranian territory, the first
military action against Tehran since the signing of the bilateral
memorandum. Washington framed the operation as retaliation for an
assault on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. In the
immediate aftermath, US President Donald Trump formally revoked the
ceasefire with Iran, prompting Tehran to launch counterstrikes
against US military facilities across six regional host nations:
Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Oman.
