Two more tankers "mysteriously catch fire" in Hormuz as Iran warns vessels to avoid US guidance

Two oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz were brought to a halt after explosions triggered “extensive fires”, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on July 21, the latest maritime incident since fighting between Iran and the United States flared up again, IRNA reported.

At least six tankers have been damaged in recent days after being struck by projectiles or hitting naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian accounts of the incidents.

In a statement, the IRGC urged commercial shipping “not to trust the US military’s false information” and to avoid what it described as “contaminated and dangerous routes.”

The warning referred to the southern shipping corridor through the strait in Omani waters, which Oman announced for foreign vessels after Iran and the United States signed an interim peace memorandum last month.

Iran says the only acceptable route through the chokepoint is the northern channel designated by its armed forces along the country’s coastline, arguing that the southern passage in Omani waters is unsafe and risky due to naval mines.

The Guards reiterated that the conduit would remain closed as long as “America’s vicious acts in the region” continued, adding that “not even a single drop of oil and gas or one package of chemical fertiliser will pass through it.”

According to the statement, rescue units evacuated the crews of the two damaged tankers.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil and LNG supplies normally pass, has become almost impossible to navigate since the United States resumed military attacks on Iran 10 days ago.

The latest incident follows a series of escalating confrontations in the waterway after Washington declared the June 17 temporary peace memorandum void, reinstated its naval blockade of Iranian ports and resumed strikes on Iranian military, coastal and maritime infrastructure.

Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks on US bases in Arab countries and has repeatedly insisted that vessels must steer clear of the southern channel and transit only through the northern route under Iranian coordination.