IRAN'S REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS SAY MINES SET TWO TANKERS ABLAZE

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that mines laid by its navy struck two oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz and set them ablaze. It said the vessels came to a halt after using a route it considers unauthorised near the Omani coast. The IRGC did not name either tanker or give a precise location for the claimed strikes. It did not say when the tankers were hit.

UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received an account of “an incident between an oil tanker and military forces” on Monday, about 121 nautical miles east of Duqm, Oman. UKMTO did not identify the vessel and reported no damage or casualties. The IRGC also said its air defences shot down a US MQ-9 drone over the strait on Monday night. A US official told US media the drone claim was untrue. Iranian outlets, including the state-affiliated Fars agency, reported that a US airstrike hit a naval base in Konarak, in Sistan and Baluchistan province, wounding two military personnel.

Washington has not commented on the reported strike in Konarak, which the Iranian outlets said targeted an air defence installation. IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mojabi threatened on Monday to target undersea internet cables in the Gulf and the strait. Mojabi said Iran would unveil new weapons as part of an effort to remove US military forces from the region. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran would retaliate against any US attack. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provides for transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz; Iran has no recognised authority under international maritime law to restrict passage there.