Iran military says non-compliant oil tanker caught fire in Gulf of Oman

Iran's military said Thursday that an oil tanker caught fire in the Gulf of Oman after it tried to cross an area Tehran has designated as off-limits, according to Iranian state television. A military statement carried by state TV described the vessel as non-compliant and said it had turned off its tracking systems before the fire. The cause of the blaze and who might be responsible were not immediately clear.

US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the region and is enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports, did not immediately comment. No cause or responsibility for the fire was immediately established.

The prohibited zone was announced by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in September, after security chief Mohsen Rezaei proposed the measure. Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi said at the time that the zone would cover part of the Sea of Oman and another part of the Arabian Sea, along a route that can lead to the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran has said non-compliant vessels in the zone would face sanctions, without explicitly threatening military action against them. Iranian naval forces have repeatedly targeted vessels they accused of using unauthorized routes through the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has declared closed since the outbreak of war with the United States in February, according to the report.