IRGC claims Hormuz drone shootdowns and tanker fires

According to the IRGC statement reported by Middle East Eye, one large oil tanker was using what the corps called an "illegal southern passageway" when it struck a mine and caught fire. Another supertanker leaving the eastern section of the Strait of Hormuz caught fire, and a tugboat sent to extinguish the blaze also burned, the statement said. The IRGC said two other vessels were halted and that its electronic warfare unit seized two LUCAS drones.

The statement accused the United States of insisting and inciting vessels to pass through mined routes, saying the policy imposed heavy insurance costs on American taxpayers and regional allies. It argued that releasing Iran's frozen credits would cost less than half of those expenses and warned that attempts to break the law in the Strait of Hormuz would bring more financial losses and political defeats for Washington. The claims have not been independently confirmed.