OMAN has rescued 25 crew members from a burning merchant vessel after it was attacked on Friday, as fresh incidents involving oil tankers heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Maritime Security Centre Oman said its navy carried out an evacuation operation after the Panama-flagged vessel, RITI, was attacked and caught fire.
All 25 crew members were given medical treatment, although the centre did not disclose their condition. Ship-tracking website MarineTraffic identified RITI as a crude oil tanker.
AFP reported today that the incident came as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said three oil tankers had been stopped after allegedly violating navigation rules or encountering incidents, including possible mine strikes, while transiting the strait.
Tehran has restricted shipping movements through the strategic waterway since February 28, following attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil supplies normally pass, has become a focal point of the conflict, with vessels repeatedly reporting attacks and other threats.
In a video released on Friday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Brad Cooper said American forces had cleared internationally recognised main transit routes in the strait of naval mines laid by Iran.
He said US forces would remain in the area to ensure the main shipping routes were free of the threat.
Cooper also said he had visited some of the more than 50,000 US troops deployed in the region.
He reiterated an earlier claim that Washington had helped Gulf countries export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil through the strait since last summer.
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a vessel about 40 nautical miles (74km) south of Iran's Lavan Island was struck by an unidentified object on Friday, causing a fire on board.
"The crew are reported safe and there has been no environmental impact reported at this time," UKMTO said in a statement on X.
The IRGC said two oil tankers, one east and the other west of the Strait of Hormuz, had attempted to use routes it deemed unauthorised before encountering incidents and being stopped in waters south of the strait.
Iran has instructed vessels to use designated routes and coordinate their movements with its armed forces. Tehran considers the southern corridor closer to Oman's waters an unauthorised route.
The IRGC alleged that the vessels had switched off their navigation systems before attempting to leave through the prohibited route with the support of US forces, which it described as terrorist forces.
It did not provide details of the incidents involving the three tankers.
The latest developments followed an announcement by Iran's military a day earlier that at least four oil tankers had stopped in the area after striking naval mines.
In a separate statement on Friday, the IRGC said a very large crude carrier carrying two million barrels of oil had stopped after an explosion caused by a mine strike while using an unauthorised route.
It described the vessel as the third tanker to have exploded and caught fire that day while attempting to use a prohibited route.
The United States has responded to Iran's restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz by imposing a counter-blockade on Iranian ports, further limiting Tehran's ability to export oil and conduct trade. - October 31, 2026
