BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. Seven vessels that violated regulations in the Strait of Hormuz have been forced to halt, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced.
According to the statement of IRGC, four tankers that entered the Persian Gulf via unauthorized routes with support from the U.S. military were tracked by IRGC naval forces.
“The four tankers were detected transferring oil between vessels in the northern part of the Persian Gulf. All four tankers were hit, and fires broke out on board,” the statement said.
The IRGC also said that three vessels violating regulations in the western part of the Strait of Hormuz struck naval mines overnight. Fires broke out as a result, forcing the vessels to stop.
“U.S. support for vessels using an unauthorized route through a mined area has led to a growing number of maritime incidents. The US side must be aware that, if this continues, the confrontation will expand to military bases in the region. This is a serious warning,” the statement said.
Tensions between the United States and Iran escalated again on July 8. On that day, U.S. forces launched several waves of strikes on Iranian territory, claiming they were responding to an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes were the first since a memorandum was signed between Washington and Tehran.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the termination of the ceasefire with Iran later that day. In response, Tehran began striking U.S. facilities in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
The conflict has brought maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz to a standstill.
