November 2, 2026
The Public Relations of the Iranian Army Naval Force announced that an oil tanker was involved in an accident that resulted in a fire breaking out on board, after it collided with a sea mine in an area east of the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran described as a prohibited area and unsafe for navigation.
The naval force explained in an official statement that the targeted tanker had deliberately disabled its navigation and identification systems. It warned all tanker owners of the consequences of attempting to cross the prohibited areas without prior coordination, or resorting to disabling identification systems in order to circumvent the restrictions imposed on the movement of ships.
The statement stressed that sailing without prior coordination in areas classified as high risk exposes ships to the risk of colliding with sea mines, with the subsequent outbreak of fires and the occurrence of extremely dangerous accidents.
This incident comes in the context of a series of maritime incidents announced by Tehran in the Strait of Hormuz. The leadership of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s naval force previously revealed that 11 oil tankers, which it described as “violating”, had burned since last October 25, noting that some of them sank in the depths of the sea.
The command indicated that these incidents occurred during the nine days following October 25, the day that witnessed the visit of the Commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, to the Strait of Hormuz, in a visit that Tehran considered a “show.”
