IRGC Says Supertanker Hit Mine in Strait of Hormuz, Vows to Target Off-Route Vessels

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released video footage showing a supertanker on fire after it struck a mine in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian media, citing the IRGC, said the vessel was carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil at the time. According to the same account, the tanker was trying to cross the waterway along an unauthorized route and had turned off its tracking systems.

The IRGC has repeatedly said it will target any tanker that does not follow Iran's designated route through the strait. Tehran has also threatened to fire on vessels in the Sea of Oman, as tensions with the United States continue without signs of easing.

The incident unfolded against a backdrop of intensified rhetoric between Washington and Tehran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday that Tehran is prepared to reach a diplomatic solution to the conflict with the United States, while insisting that Iran will not surrender. Speaking during a meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, he described US sanctions as unjustifiable and inhumane and repeated that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon, contrary to claims by US officials.

On the US side, President Donald Trump said at a rally in Dalton, Georgia, that Iran was close to obtaining a nuclear weapon it would have used to strike regional countries had the US not intervened. He said Iran would have targeted Israel and the Middle East before turning to Europe and the United States, and once again said the war will end soon.

US Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said on Friday that the American military had prevented Iran from exporting at least $25 billion worth of crude oil. Cooper said the financial strain on Iran's military has grown severe enough that there are reports of Iran-aligned militia groups across the region withholding payments to their soldiers to send money back to the IRGC, which he said is also not paying its troops.

US Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, called on Trump to end the war with Iran, which he blamed for high energy prices, and urged the president to impose a windfall profits tax on major oil companies. In a post on X, Sanders said the average US household became $2,000 poorer because of the Iran War while Big Oil gained $125 billion this year.