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A tanker carrying liquefied natural gas exploded after striking a naval mine east of the Strait of Hormuz on Friday while trying to use an "unauthorized and dangerous" southern route, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said.
"A few hours ago, a ship carrying liquefied natural gas east of the Strait of Hormuz, ignoring repeated warnings, tried to cross through the unauthorized and dangerous southern route of the strait, but was hit by a naval mine and exploded very violently," the IRGC navy said in a statement carried by Tasnim news agency.
Iranian media released images showing a large explosion and fire.
The IRGC did not name the vessel or its origin, and no independent sources confirmed the report.
The vessel "did not learn a lesson from the fate of previously exploded tankers and chose the support of American fighter jets to pass, unaware that naval mines never coordinate with the smuggler and aggressor U.S. army to hunt their prey," the IRGC said.
"The Strait of Hormuz is managed with full decisiveness and seriousness, and any vessel that tries to violate Iran’s Hormuz regulations and ignores the warnings of the IRGC navy’s Hormuz traffic control center will meet the fate of previous vessels," it said.
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Iranian media reported Thursday that four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the waterway after ignoring warnings. At least 10 ships were hit in the first 10 days of November, after 37 attacks in October, the highest monthly tally since the war began, according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
The U.S. military says it has cleared the main routes through the strait of mines and provides military support to tankers, while maintaining a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
The incident came hours after the IRGC said it destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar in Bahrain, a claim not confirmed by the U.S. or Bahrain, as the LNG tanker blast adds to tensions despite falling oil prices and hopes of de-escalation.
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