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.
