- Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed two oil tankers hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz and exploded
- The US Central Command dismissed Iran's claim as false on social media platform X
- Iran's Guards said they stopped four ships trying to transit the Strait during a missile and drone operation
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that two oil tankers transiting through the Strait of Hormuz hit mines and exploded. The claim was later dismissed by the US military.
"An hour ago, two oil tankers, which were trying to pass through the minefield south of the Strait of Hormuz by deceptive American intelligence agencies, exploded and caught fire," the Iran Guards said in a statement published by state news agency IRNA. They did not identify the tankers.
"To protect their capital and, more importantly, their lives, the sailors should not be deceived and enter the minefield," they added.
Responding to the claim, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said, "Like most IRGC claims, this is false," on X.
In a separate statement issued on Saturday, the Iran Guards said that they had "stopped" four ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz. "In the past hours, four violating ships with the support of the terrorist US army were trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and all four ships were stopped in place during a combined missile and drone operation," they said.
Iran is seeking to control the Strait of Hormuz and has been warning tankers and cargo ships to only use channels close to its coastline, to the north of the strait, and not southern corridors the United States has been attempting to protect, news agency AFP reported.
In response to Iran's threats, the US reimposed a navy blockade against Iranian ports and has been carrying out overnight airstrikes on targets in Iran aimed at weakening Tehran's abilities to monitor and threaten the strait.
US strikes killed three people and wounded eight in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.
"The deputy political, security and social affairs governor of Hormozgan announced the martyrdom of three people and the injury of eight people following enemy attacks on some parts of Hormozgan province this morning," IRNA said on Telegram.
