IRGC: Tankers Burn In Hormuz, Two US Drones Captured

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said late Wednesday that two oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after attempting to use unauthorized routes, and that its Navy took control of two US LUCAS drones and landed them intact. The statement, carried by Iranian state media and reported by Reuters, could not be independently verified.

The IRGC said that in two separate incidents the night before, a large oil tanker trying to cross a passage south of the strait struck a mine, caught fire and was stopped. It said a second supertanker, leaving through the route in the eastern part of the strait, caught fire in an extensive blaze and stopped, and that a tugboat approaching to put out the fire also caught fire. It said electronic warfare personnel of the IRGC Navy took control of two “intruding” LUCAS drones, landed them undamaged and captured them. The IRGC said its Navy continues to manage the Strait of Hormuz with full control.

The IRGC accused Washington of encouraging ships to cross a mined route, and said this forces American taxpayers and US allies to pay the large insurance costs of damaged vessels. It said that if the US had released Iran’s blocked funds, which it said would cost less than half of what has already been paid, it would not have suffered these losses or what it called a humiliating electoral defeat. It warned that attempts to break the rules in the strait would bring more financial losses and bigger political defeats for America. The statement marked 250 days of resistance since the war began on February 28.

The claims follow a series of similar IRGC announcements this week. It said three tankers caught fire in the strait on Tuesday, and that four more struck mines on a prohibited route on Wednesday and were still burning, along with the shooting down of a US MQ-9 drone. The IRGC says 11 tankers caught fire in the strait in the nine days to November 2, several of which sank. Iran has pressed ships to use a northern passage through its waters instead of the southern lane designated by Oman. The UK Maritime Trade Operations center reported on Wednesday that two unidentified projectiles struck a tanker about 26 kilometers off the coast of Oman, with no casualties or pollution reported, but did not link the incident to the IRGC’s announcements.

The IRGC has made earlier claims of capturing US drones, including an MQM-170 and an unmanned underwater vehicle, which Washington has not confirmed. The announcements come as the US weighs possible new strikes on Iran, after limited strikes on Qeshm Island on Monday that US officials called defensive.