Iran Claims Strikes on Multiple Tankers Emboldened After US Elections

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy continues to issue reports of multiple tankers being struck each day in the Strait of Hormuz. The latest reports came hours after the results of the U.S. midterm elections were emerging and as Iranian leaders emphasized the Republican losses.

Today’s statement from the IRGC Navy claimed that four unidentified tankers had struck mines while attempting transits through the southern channel near the coast of Oman. It said that two of the tankers were still ablaze. At the same time, they said two other tankers had been turned back before attempting to make the illegal passage and that they had downed a U.S. MQ-9 drone, marking the 56th of its kind Iran claims to have downed since the start of the war.

Yesterday, the IRGC Navy made a similar unsubstantiated claim, saying that three oil tankers exploded and caught fire after entering an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz and striking sea mines. This came after its so-called Persian Gulf Strait Authority doubled the number of vessels on its non-compliant list.

No independent verification has emerged for most of the claims, although tankers have been known of late to be delaying or not reporting incidents. CENTCOM and the Trump administration have also remained silent, although it has repeated in recent days the assertions that the shipping channels in the Strait of Hormuz have been cleared of mines.

This story was originally published by The Maritime Executive. Read the full story at The Maritime Executive →