Iran: A Supertanker Hit a Mine in the Strait of Hormuz, and Anyone Who Breaks the Rules Will Face Fire

A supertanker loaded with crude oil exploded and caught fire after hitting a naval mine while trying to leave the Strait of Hormuz. That's the version from Iranian state television, according to which the ship was sailing an "unauthorised and dangerous route". The fire was so intense that residents on the coast, far from the scene, reported it too.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) adds a detail meant to shift the blame onto the crew: just before the impact, the tanker had switched off its navigation systems and GPS. The message that followed leaves no room for interpretation. "Any tanker that breaks the rules and ignores the safety regulations of the Strait of Hormuz will face a huge fire," the IRGC said.

It also announced that measures against ships using "unauthorised routes" will no longer be limited to the strait - such vessels will be pursued and "punished" across the whole region. Which ship, under which flag and with what cargo - for now we only know what Tehran wants to tell us.

Iran claims it has had full control over Hormuz since the start of "US-Israeli aggression", and commercial traffic through the strait has dropped dramatically. Meanwhile, the British maritime security agency UKMTO reported that another tanker in the strait, heading for the exit, was hit on its port side by an "unidentified projectile". The crew is safe; the ship is damaged. A little earlier, UKMTO reported a fire on yet another tanker struck by an unknown projectile.

Tehran says it won't open the waterway until the US meets its demands. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meeting Vladimir Putin in Turkmenbashi, described his version of diplomacy: "We negotiate. But every time we enter into dialogue with the United States, they attack us again. Despite that, we will not leave the negotiating table."

The sea lane that for decades was the world's oil highway now has a toll gate - except the penalty for not paying is a fire on deck. When one state decides on its own which routes in international waters are "authorised", is that security, or a protection racket run with mines?