TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they struck a vessel on Monday that was attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that is crucial to global energy flows.
Iran has imposed a blockade on the strait since the United States and Israel launched strikes against the Islamic republic in February, triggering the Middle East war.
The blockade has been met with a US counter-blockade of Iranian ports, and US forces routinely escort vessels crossing the strait.
Iran has since the start of the war frequently targeted vessels crossing Hormuz without its permission.
The Guards’ navy said in a statement published on the force’s news platform, Sepah News, that “a supertanker, was hit in the Strait of Hormuz and caught fire.”
The ship targeted on Monday had tried to sail through the area “by disabling its transponders” and “by ignoring warnings from the Guards’ Navy,” the statement said.
Ali Ozmaei, the Guards’ naval commander, had warned this weekend that any vessel disabling its transponder to avoid detection while crossing the strait would be considered “hostile” and face a “severe” response.
The British maritime security agency UKMTO also issued reports on Monday of four separate incidents of vessels being hit in the Hormuz the day before.