Three oil tankers catch fire after striking mines in Hormuz: Iran

TEHERAN: Iran's navy and Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that fires had broken out on a total of three oil tankers that struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz, where Teheran has restricted navigation.

Teheran has insisted that vessels obtain its authorisation to cross the strait since war erupted with the United States in February, and has attacked ships that do not comply.

"A short while ago, two oil tankers that had switched off their radar and positioning systems and were secretly attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorised route exploded and caught fire after striking a naval mine," the Guards' navy said in a statement on the incident in the south of the waterway, carried by the Iranian state broadcaster early on Saturday.

A separate statement from Iran's conventional navy said another tanker "navigating through the unsafe and prohibited zone east of the Strait of Hormuz with its tracking and identification systems switched off, caught fire and was forced to stop after striking a naval mine."

The statements did not provide the names or origins of the vessels but the Guards said one of those hit in south Hormuz was a supertanker.

The United States has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports in response to Teheran's choking of the strategic trade route and provides military support to tankers using the waterway.

Iran's armed forces have reported several fires or explosions on board ships in the strait in recent weeks, often saying the vessels had struck mines.

The Guards released footage on Friday of a large plume of smoke rising from a vessel it said was carrying liquefied gas and hit a mine in the south of the strait.

However, the US military says it has cleared the main routes through the waterway of mines.--AFP