Iranian forces report three more oil tankers set on fire by mines in Hormuz

The Iranian Armed Forces reported this Saturday that three more oil tankers caught fire after hitting naval mines while navigating through “unauthorized” routes in the Strait of Hormuz, after the UN warned of a spike in incidents against commercial shipping in the Middle East.

“During the early hours of today, an oil tanker that was violating the rules and sailing through an unsafe and prohibited area in the eastern Strait of Hormuz, with its tracking and identification systems turned off and ignoring previous warnings, collided with a sea mine, caught fire and was immobilized,” the Iranian Navy announced in a statement reported by the Tasnim agency.

Hours earlier, the Revolutionary Guard Navy had reported that two boats had caught fire after hitting sea mines in the south of Hormuz, when they were trying to cross it via an “unauthorized” route.

Iranian forces did not identify the flags of the three tankers or report possible victims or the status of their crews, but warned that any ship that "violates the rules and sails through the prohibited zone will hit mines and catch fire."

The new incidents come after UN Undersecretary-General for the Middle East, Mohamed Khaled Khiari, warned the Security Council on Friday of an increase in attacks on commercial ships in the region.

According to data from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) cited by Khiari, since the start of the war, on February 28, until November 11, 134 maritime incidents had been confirmed in the Strait of Hormuz and other waters in the Middle East.

The UN noted that October was the month with the most incidents against commercial shipping since the beginning of the conflict and called for guaranteeing the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic route for global oil trade.

According to data from the British maritime trade monitoring body UKMTO, at least 30 incidents with ships were recorded in Hormuz in October.

The spike in attacks comes as diplomatic efforts to end the war have intensified in recent weeks, although so far no results have been obtained.

Iran demands that the United States accept seven conditions to implement the so-called two-day plan to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the oil transited before the start of the war, and begin negotiations on its nuclear program.