Iran's Revolutionary Guard says four tankers caught fire and exploded in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy has said four oil tankers caught fire and exploded while trying to use an unauthorised route in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media reported the news on Friday.

In its latest statement, the IRGC navy said a mine struck a fourth tanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil. The statement said the impact caused a powerful explosion and the vessel was burning.

In an earlier statement, the force had said one of the tankers carrying two million barrels of crude oil had struck a naval mine. Reuters could not immediately verify that statement.

Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz. A verified source told the agency that an unknown projectile struck a crude oil tanker as it was finishing an outbound transit through the waterway.

Earlier, UKMTO said it had received a report that an unknown projectile struck the port side of a vessel about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometres) south of Iran's Lavan Island. The vessel caught fire as a result.

According to that UKMTO information, the vessel's crew were safe and there was no report of environmental damage. Lavan Island lies in the Gulf, near Iran's southern coast.

It was not immediately clear whether the vessels mentioned by UKMTO were among the four tankers cited by the IRGC navy.

Tension has continued in the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which about one-fifth of the world's oil supplies pass, since US-Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of February.