In a statement on Thursday morning, the IRGC praised the Iranian people for 250 days of steadfastness, saying it has set a new standard of insight and resistance, and said its naval forces continue to manage the Strait of Hormuz with authority.
The statement said that overnight, in two separate incidents, a large oil tanker attempting to cross the unauthorized southern route of the strait struck a mine, caught fire and was stopped.
A second supertanker was leaving the same route east of the Strait of Hormuz when it was stopped in a large fire, and a tugboat that approached the supertanker to help extinguish the blaze also caught fire.
It added that the IRGC Navy electronic warfare units took control of two intruding Lucas drones, guiding them to land safely and seizing them as spoils.
The statement said the US regime, by insisting on and inciting vessels to violate the rules and cross the mined route, imposes heavy insurance costs for damaged vessels on American taxpayers and its regional allies. It said that had Washington shown any prudence, it could have avoided these heavy losses and an embarrassing electoral defeat by releasing Iran’s frozen assets, which amount to less than half the costs incurred so far. Attempts to break the law in the Strait of Hormuz will yield nothing but more financial losses and bigger political defeats for the United States, the statement said.
MNA
