Iran.. The Revolutionary Guard announces an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz

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The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced that its forces targeted a ship that was trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, causing it to catch fire.

The Revolutionary Guard Navy said in a statement published on its website, “Sepah News,” that “a giant oil tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz and caught fire.”

The statement added that the targeted ship attempted to cross “after disabling its identification and tracking devices,” and that it ignored “warnings issued by the Revolutionary Guard Navy,” according to its claim.

Iran has restricted navigation in this vital strait since the start of the war in the Middle East on February 28. In return, Washington imposed a blockade on Iran's ports.

Navigation in the Strait and its control have become one of the main points of tension between Tehran and Washington, as the former insists on being the supervisor of transit movement along a route it determines, while the latter and several other parties reject this matter.

The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority reported on Monday that a tanker, a crude oil tanker, a products tanker, and a container ship were attacked with projectiles of unknown origin on Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz.

The authority reported on the night of Sunday-Monday that an oil tanker was attacked by a drone near Sohar Marsa in the Sultanate of Oman, noting that local authorities helped evacuate the crew.

Since the beginning of the war, Iran has repeatedly targeted ships that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz without obtaining its permission.

Commander of the Guard's naval forces, Ali Azmaei, warned over the weekend that any ship that turns off its tracking devices to avoid detection while crossing the strait will be considered a "hostile target."