TEHRAN — Iranian Revolutionary Guards said yesterday that their naval mines halted three tankers attempting to travel the Strait of Hormuz via routes considered illegal by Tehran.

“Two violating oil tankers were set ablaze and halted due to the explosion of mines planted by the brave sailors of the IRGC Navy at an illegal crossing point in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz,” the Guards said in a statement on their official Sepah News website.

The Guards later said in a statement carried by state TV that a third oil tanker “exploded and caught fire after striking a naval mine south of the Strait of Hormuz”.

The statement added that the tanker “carrying over two million barrels of crude oil, had deactivated all of its radar and navigation systems”.

Iranian forces have, since the outbreak of the Middle East war, repeatedly targeted ships attempting to pass through Hormuz via a southern route close to the Omani coast.

The conflict began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader, along with senior military commanders.

Iran has attempted to blockade the strategic waterway, demanding all ships seek its authorisation to cross. In peacetime, the Hormuz strait carried around a fifth of the world’s oil supplies.

In retaliation, the United States has imposed a counterblockade on Iranian ports and ships.