File image.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on July 31 that its naval forces hit and stopped two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, while four others turned back after receiving Iranian warnings.
In a statement, the Corps said the incident occurred early in the day when two tankers transited what it described as an “undeclared route” under United States air escort and ignored Iranian warnings.
The two tankers were “hit and stopped,” while four other vessels “quickly changed course and returned to their location,” it added.
“Last night, in response to CENTCOM’s false statement, we informed all owners of shipping and insurance companies not to pay attention to Central Command (CENTCOM) statements,” the IRGC said.
While there have been no reports of attacks on any commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz since July 29, the IRGC released video footage showing an unidentified tanker on fire.
A day earlier, CENTCOM said U.S. forces had redirected 24 commercial vessels and disabled and boarded four others “to ensure full compliance.” The command also rejected IRGC claims that navigation through the Strait of Hormuz is unsafe, saying the primary threat to civilian crews remains the Corps’ actions.
The situation in the Strait of Hormuz became the main sticking point between the U.S. and Iran, sparking a 13-day confrontation earlier this month that ultimately caused the collapse of the memorandum of understanding signed in June to end the war.
The latest attacks by the IRGC affirm that the Strait of Hormuz—responsible for around 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas—is still tightly controlled by Iran.
Traffic through the strategic highway remains very low, with only two tankers transiting on July 30, according to Kpler shipping data.
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oh dear! the gulf quislings are f….d! heheheh