Iran's IRGC says four tankers destroyed by mines near Strait of Hormuz

Key facts

• The IRGC said four oil tankers were destroyed after striking naval mines south of the Strait of Hormuz.
• The IRGC said the four tankers were still ablaze and that two other vessels had been seized.
• The IRGC described the route the tankers used as prohibited; it gave no date for the strikes.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on November 4 that four oil tankers were destroyed after striking naval mines while trying to traverse a route it described as prohibited south of the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement, the IRGC said the tankers were still ablaze and that two other vessels had been seized.

The statement, carried by Reuters, did not say when the vessels struck the mines, which flags they were flying, who owned them or what they were carrying. It also gave no account of the effect on traffic through the strait, the waterway at the mouth of the Gulf through which tanker traffic passes.

The IRGC is a party to the incident it described, and no other party has confirmed the number of vessels hit, their condition or the seizure of the two other ships.