Iran announced an attack on a US-escorted oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz

“The oil tankers that did not comply with regulations were attacked and forced to stop, while four other tankers quickly changed direction and returned to their original positions,” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement on July 31, announcing the operation. activity in the Strait of Hormuz area.

According to the IRGC, two oil tankers were attacked by this force while trying to go through an “unannounced route”, under the “air escort” of the US military. The IRGC said that these two ships ignored warnings from Iran.

“In response to the false statement of CENTCOM (US Central Command), we have informed all ship owners and insurance companies not to pay attention to CENTCOM’s announcements,” IRGC added.

CENTCOM previously said that US forces had rerouted 24 commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and disabled and boarded inspections of 4 other ships “to ensure full compliance with regulations”.

CENTCOM also rejected the IRGC’s claim that it is unsafe to travel through the Strait of Hormuz, and affirmed that the main threat to civilian crews is still the action from Iran.

Regional tensions increased when the US coordinated with Oman and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to establish a new route south of the Strait of Hormuz, completely within Oman’s territorial waters, encouraging commercial ships to choose this option instead of using the northern route through Iran’s territorial waters.

Iran accused the US of “imposing its will” on the Omani government when it sought to send many ships through the Strait of Hormuz along the “illegal maritime route” in the south of the area. Cargo ships passing through this strait have been attacked, leading to tit-for-tat attacks between Iran and the US.