Iran's IRGC says multiple oil tankers hit mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Thursday that oil tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz without Tehran's coordination struck naval mines and caught fire, according to Iranian state media and wire reports citing the Guard and the Iranian army.

The IRGC told Fars that overnight a large tanker hit a mine south of the strait and was halted, and that another supertanker and a tugboat that approached it also caught fire east of the waterway. Iranian army statements carried by IRNA later claimed additional tanker mine strikes east of the strait on Thursday. Tehran has declared the strait unsafe and closed to vessels that do not coordinate with Iran.

Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reported a tanker struck by two unidentified projectiles about 50 nautical miles north of Qatar late Wednesday. Oil prices rebounded Thursday after a midterm-driven plunge, with Brent crude settling higher as fresh shipping incidents renewed supply-disruption fears. IRGC claims are attributed to Iranian forces; independent confirmation of each vessel's identity and cause was still limited.