Iran says 5 tankers, tugboat caught fire in Hormuz
Since the Iran war broke out in late February, Tehran has severely restricted shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran announced that five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. Since the start of the Iran war in late February, the Revolutionary Guards have severely restricted traffic through the strategic waterway, which transports about one-fifth of global oil consumption. The Guards claimed the fires were caused by naval mines.
Additionally, two more oil tankers struck mines and caught fire in eastern waters surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian military has not confirmed these incidents. UKMTO reported that a tanker was hit by two unidentified projectiles 50 nautical miles off the coast of Qatar, though no damage or casualties were reported. The IRGC navy's electronic warfare unit seized control of two LUCAS drones, a US-developed unmanned combat attack system.
Last month, the US military stated it had assisted Gulf nations in exporting 1.5 billion barrels of oil through Hormuz since the summer.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
