Conflict & Security
US denies Iran Guards claim that tankers hit mines near Hormuz
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Saturday that two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after hitting mines while transiting near the Strait of Hormuz, a claim the US military denied.
In a statement carried by Iran's state news agency IRNA, the Guards said the tankers were trying to pass through what they described as a minefield south of the strait. They did not name the vessels.
The Guards also warned sailors not to enter the area, saying they should not be deceived into using the minefield.
US Central Command rejected the claim in a post on X, saying it was false.
The Guards separately said Saturday that they had stopped four ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement carried by state broadcaster, they said four ships had tried to transit the strait with support from what they called the US army, and that all four were stopped during a combined missile and drone operation.
The source says Iran has again virtually closed the Strait of Hormuz for a week. It says Iran is seeking to control the waterway and has warned tankers and cargo ships to use channels close to its coastline, north of the strait, rather than southern corridors the United States has tried to protect.
The source says the United States, responding to Iranian threats to shipping in the strait, has reimposed a naval blockade against Iranian ports. It also says the United States has been carrying out nightly airstrikes on targets in Iran aimed at weakening Tehran's ability to monitor and threaten the strait.
Update
US Central Command denied the Revolutionary Guards' claim, saying on X that it was false.
The Revolutionary Guards separately said they had stopped four ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
The Guards said the four ships were stopped during a combined missile and drone operation.
The source says Iran has again virtually closed the Strait of Hormuz for a week.
The source says Iran has warned tankers and cargo ships to use channels close to its coastline and avoid southern corridors the United States has tried to protect.
The source says the United States has reimposed a naval blockade against Iranian ports and has been carrying out nightly airstrikes on targets in Iran.
Source note: AFP news report published on 18 July 2026 at 00:48:39 UTC.
Update
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they stopped four ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command said US forces struck Iran for a seventh consecutive night to continue degrading Iranian military capabilities.
Iran accused US forces of hitting civilian infrastructure, including an airport, a railway station and two bridges, while there was no US confirmation on Friday that infrastructure strikes had begun.
Major General Mohsen Rezaei said Iran would resume full-scale offensive operations if US strikes continued for another two or three days.
Iran's health ministry said at least 38 people had been killed and more than 400 wounded in Iran since fighting resumed.
Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Syria, Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq's Kurdistan region were all mentioned in reports or claims linked to the wider escalation.
China and Pakistan called for the United States and Iran to stop fighting and resume talks.
The report said the United States had reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports and that attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz had continued.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 23:34:14 UTC.
Update
The Revolutionary Guards did not identify the two tankers.
The Guards warned sailors not to enter the minefield.
The report said Iran has again virtually closed the Strait of Hormuz for a week and has warned ships to use northern channels near its coastline rather than southern corridors the United States has tried to protect.
The report said the United States reimposed a naval blockade against Iranian ports in response to Iranian threats to shipping in the strait.
The report said the United States has been carrying out nightly airstrikes in Iran aimed at weakening Tehran's ability to monitor and threaten the strait.
IRNA reported that recent US strikes hit Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, Lar, Darab and Yazd, and said casualties were not immediately known.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 23:02:44 UTC.
Update
The statement was published by Iran's state news agency IRNA.
The Guards said the explosions happened about an hour before their statement.
The Guards said the tankers were south of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Guards said the tankers caught fire after exploding.
The Guards alleged the tankers were trying to pass through a minefield in circumstances linked to what they called deceptive American intelligence agencies.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 22:30:26 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The identities, condition and locations of the two tankers were not provided in the Guards' statement.
The tanker explosion claim is disputed by the US military.
The source does not provide independent confirmation of the Guards' claims about the tankers or the four stopped ships.
Source
AFP news report published on .