World·Iran
Update: Iran says four tankers hit trouble in Hormuz on Friday, including a supertanker it says struck a mine and caught fire; Oman rescues 25 crew from the burning tanker RITI
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said four oil tankers were halted Friday after "incidents" or hitting mines on what it calls an unauthorized southern route through the Strait of Hormuz, the latest a supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels that it said exploded and was burning, AFP reported via Arab News; the AP said it could not verify the claims. Oman's navy evacuated 25 crew members from the Panama-flagged tanker RITI after it was targeted and caught fire, and the British navy's UKMTO reported a separate ship hit by an unknown projectile south of Iran's Lavan Island, crew safe. U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said Friday that U.S. forces had cleared the strait's primary transit routes of Iranian sea mines.
Sources
- Arab News (AFP)Oman rescues crew from burning ship as Iran Guards claim 3 tankers halted in Hormuz
- Al Jazeera (with AFP, AP)Oman rescues 25 from burning oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz
- CBS News (with AP, AFP)Iran War Updates: Trump says war "going to end soon" as Qatar pushes for a U.S.-Iran deal