Iran's IRGC says 3 vessels caught fire in Hormuz Strait's 'illegal' route

TEHRAN, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that three vessels, including two supertankers, caught fire in two separate incidents the previous night while crossing the Strait of Hormuz through an "illegal and unauthorized" route south of the waterway.

In a statement on its official media outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said that in one of the incidents, an oil tanker caught fire after hitting naval mines as it was passing through the "illegal" route.

In the other incident, another oil tanker, which was leaving the strait through the same route, was stopped after catching fire east of the waterway. A tugboat that had approached the oil tanker to help contain the blaze also caught fire, the statement said.

In a separate operation, members of its naval electronic warfare unit took control of two "invading" low-cost uncrewed combat attack system drones and landed them unharmed, the IRGC said.

It accused the U.S. government of imposing "very heavy" insurance costs on American taxpayers and its allies in West Asia by enticing vessels into committing violations and passing through the mined route in the strait.

Iran tightened its grip on the strait on Feb. 28, barring safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory.