Iran Says Two Tankers Were Stopped South of Hormuz After Incidents

Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy said on Friday that two oil tankers were involved in incidents and stopped in waters south of the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported. The Guards said the tankers had ignored radio warnings and had attempted to use what it described as an unauthorised route through the strategic waterway.

One tanker in the east, one in the west

The Guards navy said one tanker was in the eastern part of the strait and the other was in the western part, according to the Tasnim News Agency. Both vessels were brought to a halt in waters south of the strait. The Guards said both tankers had switched off their navigation and positioning systems and were attempting to leave the Strait of Hormuz through unauthorised routes. It said the vessels had received several radio warnings before disregarding them.

The Guards also claimed the vessels were operating with support from the United States military. That claim was part of the Guards statement as reported by Tasnim and by NewsNou. It was not supported by independent evidence in the reports published on Friday.

Fire reported, tankers not identified

The Guards navy said the vessels also caught fire. The statement did not identify the tankers, their flags or their crews. It provided no immediate details on casualties or on the extent of any damage. NewsNou reported the same account: two oil tankers halted after encountering unspecified incidents while attempting to navigate a route Tehran considers unauthorised, one stopped in the eastern section and the other in the western section, both in waters south of the waterway.

Because the tankers have not been identified, these reports carry no confirmed information about their owners, cargo or destination. The fire report remains part of the Guards account until a vessel, an owner, a flag state or a maritime agency confirms it.

A separate claim about a United States vessel

Iran also said on Friday that it destroyed a United States unmanned vessel in the eastern Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported. There was no immediate confirmation from the United States military. The reports did not describe the vessel, where the claimed destruction took place beyond the eastern strait, or what evidence Iran offered for the claim.

That claim is reported here as an Iranian claim only. It is unconfirmed by the United States, and no independent report confirming it had been published when the Guards statement was reported on Friday.

What has not been verified

The Guards have not provided independent evidence detailing what happened to the two tankers, and the nature of the reported incidents remains unclear, NewsNou reported. Reuters noted that there was no independent verification of the Guards account. The word incidents is the Guards own description, and the reports do not say whether the tankers struck anything, were stopped by force, or stopped for another reason.

What is confirmed is limited to the statement itself and how it was reported. On Friday, the Guards navy publicly said two tankers were stopped south of the strait, one in the east and one in the west, after warnings and an attempted unauthorised passage, and it said the vessels caught fire and had their navigation and positioning systems switched off. Every part of that account beyond the making of the statement itself awaits confirmation from the vessels, their operators, maritime agencies or the United States military.