TEHRAN – Two oil tankers caught fire and exploded after striking naval mines while attempting to secretly navigate an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy announced.

In a statement on Saturday night, the IRGC Navy said the two oil tankers had attempted to pass through the strategic waterway with their navigation and automatic identification systems switched off.

The vessels struck naval mines and suffered powerful explosions, triggering severe fires, the statement added.

Following the incident, two other tankers that had also intended to make a covert passage through the strait complied with warnings issued by the IRGC Navy’s Strait of Hormuz vessel traffic control center and turned back toward the waters of the Persian Gulf, it added.

 The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report from Indian shipping authorities concerning an attack on a tanker sailing eastbound through the Persian Gulf, before entering the Strait of Hormuz.

 All crew members are reported safe and accounted for, while the extent of damage to the vessel and any environmental impact remain unknown.

UKMTO said the source of the report had been verified and advised vessels transiting the area to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.

IRGC hits US air defense radar in Bahrain 

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that its Aerospace Force has targeted a US air defense radar installation at Al-Riffa helicopter base in Bahrain with six drones in the second phase of its retaliatory operations against US military aggression.

In a statement on Sunday, the IRGC said the radar at the US air defense site was struck by six drones belonging to the IRGC Aerospace Force.

The statement said the precise and successful strikes were heard in various parts of Bahrain, once again demonstrating the IRGC's operational capabilities.

The US, having suffered a complete failure in its purported plan to escort oil tankers --which was in fact an oil-smuggling operation-- in the Strait of Hormuz, is now seeking to divert global attention from the reality that this vital waterway is closed through small-scale and blind actions, the statement said.

The IRGC stressed that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and warned that any aggression by the American enemy would be met with an even harsher and more forceful response.

It further stated that expensive American drones are being shot down one after another, adding that a larger number of IRGC drones has been deployed against US targets in this phase compared with the previous one.

The statement concluded that the enemy should bear in mind that every act of aggression would be followed by a harsh and calculated response.