Five Hormuz tankers burn, Iran says

Iran's Revolutionary Guards and army said five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in and near the Strait of Hormuz after vessels struck mines, according to Iranian media on Thursday.

The reported incidents have not been confirmed by maritime officials.

The Revolutionary Guards told Fars news agency that a large oil tanker caught fire after striking a mine south of the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday night. They said another supertanker was halted by a major fire while exiting the eastern Strait of Hormuz, and that a tugboat approaching it to extinguish the fire also caught fire.

Iran's army later said three more tankers had been hit by naval mines. It said one tanker caught fire early Thursday in an unsafe area east of the strait, and that two more tankers struck mines and caught fire around noon in unsafe waters east of Hormuz, according to the official IRNA news agency.

British maritime monitor UKMTO separately reported that a tanker was struck by two unidentified projectiles around 50 nautical miles, or 90 kilometres, off the north coast of Qatar. That area is about 500 kilometres west of Hormuz, in the centre of the Gulf. UKMTO did not provide details on damage or casualties.

Fars also reported that the Revolutionary Guards navy's electronic warfare unit had taken control of two LUCAS drones, a US-developed model.

Iran has restricted traffic through Hormuz since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February. The waterway normally carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption. Iran regularly attacks ships it accuses of transiting without its authorisation. The United States military has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and helped tankers travel through the strait.