Iran Claims Three Tankers Caught Fire in Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed Sunday that three oil tankers had exploded and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz while using a route it described as unauthorized.

The Guards did not identify the vessels or disclose their nationalities. Their statement could not be treated as independent confirmation of the number of ships involved.

Separately, the British maritime agency UKMTO reported that a tanker caught fire off Khasab, Oman, on Saturday and that its crew had been evacuated. It also reported another tanker hit by an unknown projectile that day, according to AFP reporting carried by Gulf News.

Emirati state media said 22 people had been rescued from a burning vessel in the Gulf of Oman and were in stable condition. AFP said it could not confirm whether the different accounts referred to the same incidents.

The reports come amid restrictions on shipping through the strait and a U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports. The waterway normally carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption.