Iran Claims It Smashed US Radar and Navigation Gear Near Hormuz

The IRGC Navy said Tuesday it took out US coastal radar and navigational systems south of the Strait of Hormuz. In its statement, carried by Iranian media, it called American forces a "humiliated smuggling army" too afraid to come near the waterway. The claim has not been independently verified.

The Guards added that a third oil tanker struck a naval mine while trying to cross the strait on what it called an "unauthorized route." The vessel was reported to be engulfed in flames in the eastern part of the strait. Hours earlier, the IRGC said two "violating" tankers were abandoned after a "massive" explosion and fire — one a supertanker it says hit a mine, the other allegedly shielded by "US aggressor warplanes" before halting its transit. Both had switched off their navigation and identification systems, according to the Guards.

From Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday there is no need for major combat operations against Iran right now, arguing that economic sanctions are "devastating" the Iranian economy. He repeated that the US stays open to a peace agreement and is not discouraging mediation, but said Tehran is "apparently not ready to make a deal." Rubio rejected the idea the conflict has hit a stalemate, pointing to the compounding effect of sanctions as mounting pressure.

French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the risk of a fresh US-Iran escalation "has not been completely ruled out." Speaking after a G7 foreign ministers' meeting, he said France otherwise "would not have devoted so much time and energy over the past two days" to discussing the issue with Washington. He also said Paris rules nothing out over the October cyberattacks on supermarket refrigerator systems blamed on Iran's IRGC, and that it "will take all measures we deem necessary and proportionate" — with possible European sanctions including entry bans to European territory and asset freezes.