Iranian state broadcaster: Oil tanker explodes in the Strait of Hormuz — Iran claims the vessel was in violation

Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB News reported that an oil tanker has exploded in the Strait of Hormuz, as Al Jazeera reports in its live blog on the U.S.–Iran war.

According to sources cited by IRIB, the tanker — described as being in violation of the rules — had switched off its tracking system (AIS) as it entered the strait, suggesting that Tehran is presenting the incident as an action against a vessel that was not respecting navigation rules.

The report comes on the same day that the British maritime trade agency UKMTO confirmed that two other tankers were hit by unidentified projectiles in Hormuz and off the coast of Oman, with no casualties or pollution reported.

Further details about the fate of the crew of the exploded tanker have not yet been made public, and no independent source has so far confirmed the Iranian version of the event.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply passes, remains under high tension, with commercial maritime traffic at minimal levels and energy prices in constant fluctuation.