Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps: 2 tankers exploded in the Strait of Hormuz

On 18 July, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement stating that two tankers had exploded and caused a fire while passing through a mined area south of the Strait of Hormuz. The statement stressed that the Strait of Hormuz had been “completely closed” as a result of recent United States military operations and that oil and gas could not be transported in the Strait until the United States had ceased its military operations against Iraq, and that vessels should avoid entering mined areas. The statement did not state the nationality of the two tankers, the number of casualties and the damage. Xinhua