The Iranian Army’s Navy says it has deployed operational units in a new formation east of the Strait of Hormuz and across the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea, after identifying a tanker that sustained damage and caught fire.
The Navy said on Tuesday that the tanker was detected by the surveillance teams around midday after it was damaged and caught fire while attempting to cross the restricted zone with its navigation systems switched off.
The Navy said its operational units have been tasked with maintaining continuous, real-time surveillance of enemy activities and maritime traffic in the region.
Iran’s Navy urged all vessels to strictly refrain from switching off their electronic equipment and to comply with international regulations.
It also called on ships to coordinate their passage with the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure safe transit.
In a statement on Monday, the public relations office of the Navy of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said commercial vessels and oil tankers cooperating with the “terrorist plunderers” of the United States in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf will face a decisive response.
It also announced a third crude oil supertanker was struck and engulfed in flames in the Strait of Hormuz in the morning after ignoring warnings and switching off its navigation system.
Iran has restricted transit through the Strait of Hormuz since the early days of the US-Israeli war of aggression that began on February 28 and came to a temporary halt under a ceasefire in early April amid the Islamic Republic’s brave resistance and successful retaliatory operations.
Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply, with vessel movements dropping to single digits amid the ongoing war on Iran and the restrictions on shipping through the strategic waterway.
Tehran has said it will not reopen the waterway until the United States meets its demands and takes steps to restore Iran’s trust.
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