Iran's Guards say two oil tankers hit mines in Hormuz; US says main routes are clear

Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Saturday, November 14, that two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after striking naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The Guards' navy said the ships had switched off their radar and positioning systems and were secretly trying to cross by an unauthorised route. The statement, carried by Iranian state broadcasting, did not name the vessels or say where they came from, but said one was a supertanker, according to Republica and Ratopati English.

Reports differ on the number. Al Jazeera, citing Iranian authorities, said three oil tankers had hit mines on Saturday, while Republica and Ratopati English reported the Guards' statement as two. These accounts all rest on Iranian statements and state media.

A day earlier, on Friday, November 13, the Guards' navy said a tanker carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) had struck a naval mine and suffered an explosion while using what it called an unauthorised and dangerous route, The Hindu reported. Al Jazeera described the vessel as a liquefied gas carrier that caught fire.

Since the war with the United States began in February, Tehran has insisted that vessels obtain its authorisation to cross the strait and has attacked ships that do not comply, Republica reported. Iran's navy has warned that tankers entering the restricted area east of the strait without approval will be set alight by naval mines, according to Al Jazeera. Iranian officials say the strait will stay closed until the US meets their demands, which include an end to its naval blockade of Iranian ports and the lifting of economic sanctions.

The US military says it has cleared the main routes through the strait of mines and that the waterway is open to commercial shipping. The two accounts conflict, and the reports do not settle which is right. The US has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and provides military support to tankers using the strait, Republica reported.

At a UN Security Council briefing on Friday, Khaled Khiari, the UN assistant secretary-general for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, said the situation "cannot be allowed to become the new normal" and called for the full restoration of maritime navigation, according to Al Jazeera. He said the UN's International Maritime Organization tracked 136 security incidents involving vessels in Hormuz and the wider Middle East between March 1 and November 11, 35 of them in October, the highest monthly tally since the conflict began.

Shipping through the strait is about 65 percent below pre-war levels, according to the latest report from the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). Khiari said the disruption is driving up energy, transport and insurance costs and fuelling inflation. The Hindu noted that tankers are still facing attacks despite a rebound in traffic and expectations of de-escalation, which have been reflected in falling oil prices.