Iran's Guards say four oil tankers destroyed after hitting mines in Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a powerful branch of the country's armed forces, said on Wednesday that four oil tankers had been destroyed after hitting naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz. A naval mine is an explosive device placed in water to damage or sink ships.

The IRGC said two of the vessels were still burning. It also said two more tankers had been seized, and that the tankers had been trying to travel through a prohibited southern route in the strait. The claim was reported by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. The BBC said it had not independently verified the IRGC's account of the four tankers.

The IRGC described the four tankers as "rogue" oil tankers, according to Middle East Eye's live coverage. The strait is a narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and mines have been a recurring concern there this year.

In March, Reuters reported that sources said Iran had laid about a dozen mines in the strait. The U.S. military said it had targeted Iranian mine-laying vessels, eliminating 16 of them.

Incidents involving tankers have continued since then. In October, the IRGC's navy said two oil tankers had caught fire after hitting mines while crossing the strait, according to Reuters. Later that month, an IRGC navy statement said one tanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil had hit a naval mine.

Earlier in the year, the IRGC told vessels to sail through Iranian waters to avoid the risk of mines on the usual route, Reuters reported.