Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Sunday that a supertanker carrying over two million barrels of oil had sunk after it struck a mine and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
The ship was one of two that hit mines while transiting the vital trade corridor, the Guards said, but there was no independent confirmation of the incidents.
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Since the outbreak of the Middle East war in late February, Tehran has heavily restricted traffic through the strategic waterway, insisting vessels use routes authorised by the Islamic republic.
It has regularly targeted ships that transit without its authorisation.
The United States has in response imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and helped tankers travel the strait, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil.
The American military recently claimed to have cleared all mines from the main routes through the waterway.
"Over the past few hours, two oil tankers travelling along an unauthorised route in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz struck naval mines, resulting in massive explosions and fire," the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement carried by state TV.
"One of these vessels — a super tanker carrying over two million barrels of crude oil — sank in the…