The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Sunday that two oil tankers, including a supertanker, detonated after striking naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Xinhua report. The IRGC said the vessels were sailing an "unauthorised" route, had turned off their navigation and identification systems, and were stopped when the explosions occurred.
In a statement published on the IRGC’s official news outlet Sepah News, the navy described the supertanker as having suffered a massive explosion and being on fire. It claimed both tankers were "violating" the strait’s navigation rules by transiting the prohibited channel over the last hours.
The incident follows Iran’s tightening of controls on the strategic waterway on February 28, when the country barred safe passage for vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States after joint Israeli‑U.S. strikes on Iranian territory.
These claims are unverified by independent observers, and no other national or international media outlets have reported corroborating evidence of the explosions or the presence of mines in the area. The IRGC remains the sole source of information on the event.
Given the lack of external confirmation, the situation remains unconfirmed beyond the IRGC’s statements. Authorities and shipping companies have yet to comment, and the event has not yet appeared in other reputable news streams.
