Iran Says 3 Oil Tankers Caught Fire After Hitting Mines in Hormuz
Iran's navy said three oil tankers caught fire on Saturday, November 14, after hitting naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported. Tehran says the ships used a prohibited route as it asserts control over the waterway and presses the United States.
Iran's navy said three oil tankers caught fire on Saturday, November 14, after hitting naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported. The incidents deepen a month of attacks on ships carrying energy cargoes through one of the world's most strategic waterways.
One tanker struck a mine in the eastern strait on Saturday morning. Two more hit mines later in the day.
Iran's IRNA news agency quoted the Revolutionary Guards Navy on the evening incident. "Two violating tankers ... were attempting to slip through a prohibited route in the Strait of Hormuz when they hit naval mines, exploded, and burst into flames," it said.
The reports could not be independently verified. No casualty figures or ship names have been given.
A month of near-daily incidents
Iran has imposed restrictions on vessels passing through the strait. It has attacked ships it says broke those rules, as it seeks to assert control over the waterway and pressure the United States.
On Friday, a tanker carrying liquefied gas hit a mine and exploded while using a route Iran had not authorized, the Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said. It called the path "unauthorised and dangerous."
The day before, the Iranian military said four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the strait. It said they had ignored warnings and entered restricted areas.
Attacks on energy shipping have intensified over the past month, with Iran reporting incidents nearly every day.
Political positions harden
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's top negotiator, said on Wednesday that navigation in the strait would never return to pre-war conditions. "There are no 'free waters' [international waters] there," he said, adding that the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea does not apply.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday: "We don't need a deal with Iran." He added that "we've got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we've got their Strait!"
Gas exports still below pre-war levels
Data from the Kpler analytics firm showed 31 tankers carried liquefied natural gas through the strait in October, the highest monthly total since February. September had 23.
Qatar's Ras Laffan terminal loaded more than 2.7 million tons in October. It exported nearly 6.2 million tons in February, before the conflict.
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