Iranian Army: Two Tankers Caught Fire After Hitting Naval Mines East of the Strait of Hormuz; Navy Blames the US President and Ship Owners

Iran's Army public relations office announced on the afternoon of Thursday 12 November 2026 (21 Aban) that two "violating" tankers, which ignored warnings and switched off their radar systems before entering a prohibited and unsafe zone east of the Strait of Hormuz, caught fire after hitting naval mines. The Army Navy stressed that responsibility for the fires in that zone lies first with the US president and then with the ship owners who trust his claims. The published text gives no names, flags or cargoes for the vessels.

On Wednesday night, 11 November (20 Aban), the IRGC had also cited a "massive explosion" that it said brought two supertankers carrying more than 4 million barrels of oil to a standstill on an "unauthorised" route; the statements do not make clear whether the two pairs of ships are the same. Al Jazeera, citing Reuters and ship-tracking data, reported that only 5 commodity vessels crossed the strait on Saturday 7 November (16 Aban) and none on Sunday 8 November (17 Aban), against 31 crossings the weekend before.