Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that they had struck a supertanker attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway vital to global energy supplies. The Guards’ navy said the vessel caught fire after being hit.
According to a statement from the navy, published on the force’s Sepah News platform, the ship had tried to get through by turning off its transponders and disregarding Guards warnings. Naval commander Ali Ozmaei had warned over the weekend that any vessel disabling its transponder to avoid detection would be deemed hostile and face a severe response.
Blockade and US escorts in the strait
The blockade dates to February, when the US and Israel attacked Iran, setting off the wider Middle East war. Washington has answered with a counter-blockade of Iranian ports, and American forces regularly escort ships crossing the waterway.
Attacks on ships and UKMTO incident reports
Throughout the conflict, Iran has often fired on vessels passing through Hormuz without authorisation. On Monday, UKMTO, the UK maritime security agency, flagged four separate incidents in which ships were struck in the strait the day before.
