New Delhi. According to Iranian media, a tanker has hit a sea mine after deviating from Tehran’s designated Hormuz route. An oil tanker is said to have exploded after hitting a landmine in the Strait of Hormuz. Tasnim News Agency reported that the ship hit a sea mine after deviating from the route approved by Tehran on that crucial sea route. Iranian officials have not yet commented on the incident.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired warning shots at six ships over the past 24 hours as they attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state television reported that the ships were prevented from continuing their journey because they deviated from the “designated route” set by Tehran. On Saturday, the IRGC also stopped four ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz without permission. Disagreements over the route of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz have been a major source of friction between the US and Iran, leading to recent confrontations in the region.
Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Akraminia says Tehran took steps to assert its rights over the Strait of Hormuz. This step was taken after the US attempted to create a fake and illegal passage through the Strait of Hormuz, violating a memorandum of understanding signed in June. According to Tasnim News Agency, he said, “In these operations, the military of the Islamic Republic of Iran placed US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain – considered the most important US bases in the region – at the center of its operations.”
The MoU has been broken due to a dispute between the US and Iran over the management of shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz. The US launched attacks on Iran for 13 consecutive nights, prompting Iran to retaliate by attacking US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan. According to US media reports, Trump halted the attacks on Friday due to concerns about depleting interceptor missile stocks and to create space for diplomacy.