Iran war: IRGC says 3 tankers on fire after hitting mines in Hormuz

• The three tankers had “turned off their radar and navigation systems and were trying to leave the unauthorised southern route” of the Strait of Hormuz when they were struck, the IRGC Navy says.
• The IRGC Navy says it has captured a US “spy and deception” drone west of the Strait of Hormuz.
• US President Donald Trump says he approved Vice President JD Vance’s request to contact Iran over Tehran’s “need for help with medical supplies” as diplomatic efforts to end the eight-month war appear to gather pace.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran remains “in close and ongoing contact” with mediators on ideas to implement its seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

• 7m ago

  (10:30 GMT)

  Houthis say more than 100 air strikes recorded in past 24 hours

  The Houthis say they have recorded 101 air strikes in the past 24 hours, our colleagues on the ground are reporting.

  Earlier, media outlets affiliated with the Iran-backed group reported a series of air strikes on the districts of Dhubab and Mocha.
• 22m ago

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  Two Palestinians killed in Israeli drone attack in central Gaza

  Two Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli drone attack in central Gaza.

  Ambulance and emergency services said the attack hit a vehicle in Maghazi camp. It is unclear if anyone else was hurt.

  Israeli attacks have continued on the Strip despite a “ceasefire” agreed between Israel and Hamas in October last year.

• 52m ago

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  Oil spill from attacked tanker threatens Gulf water facilities

  An oil spill from a stricken vessel hit by a projectile off the coast of the United Arab Emirates continues to raise concerns.

  The incident off the UAE has also brought questions about what impact oil spills can have on desalination plants which crowd the ⁠Emirati coastline and – like in other Gulf countries – are a key supplier of water.

  Maritime intelligence firm Windward said on Sunday the leak threatens the seawater intake of the Naqa’a desalination plant at the border between Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah.

  In the UAE, desalinated water accounts for more than 80 percent of potable water. Major plants include those at Dubai’s Jebel Ali industrial port, and at Taweelah between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

  Gulf desalination plants have already come under threat from direct hits during the US-Israel war on Iran earlier this year.

  
• 1h ago

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  IRGC: Strait of Hormuz will never open until Iran’s conditions are met

  Iran’s IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebi says the crucial waterway for global trade will remain closed until Iran’s demands are fulfilled by the United States.

  “The Strait of Hormuz is today under the strategic control of the Iranian armed forces and will never be opened until the Islamic Republic’s conditions are fully met,” Mohebi was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.

  The “enemy” tried to destroy Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities, but the US’s “hidden goal” is to ensure the “Greater Israel” plan comes to fruition, Mohebi added.

  

  Hossein Mohebi, spokesperson of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [File: AFP]
• 1h ago

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  Iran claims capture of US ‘spy’ drone west of the Strait of Hormuz

  Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they have captured a US “spy and deception” drone west of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s IRNA news agency is reporting.

  In a statement, the IRGC Navy said fighters from its Electronic Warfare Unit “succeeded in safely landing an American terrorist army spy and deception drone (MQM-170) west of the Strait of Hormuz”.

  “The mission of this drone was to identify the air defence systems of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the coastal strip of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” it added.

  “Based on the information retrieved from this aircraft by the IRGC Navy specialists, it was determined that the origin of the flight of this aircraft was on the coast of one of the countries on the southern edge of the Persian Gulf.”

  Earlier, we reported that the IRGC had announced the downing of an MQ-1 drone in airspace east of the Strait of Hormuz.

  

  47:15

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• 1h ago

  (09:00 GMT)

  

  IRGC says 3 tankers caught fire in Strait of Hormuz after hitting mines

  Three tankers have caught fire while passing through the Strait of Hormuz after hitting mines, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, Iranian state media has reported.

  The IRGC Navy said the vessels were using the “unauthorised” southern route and were abandoned on the southern shores of the Strait of Hormuz after catching fire.

  “The tankers turned off all their radar and navigation systems and were trying to leave the unauthorised southern route of the Strait of Hormuz, ignoring warnings of the IRGC Navy,” Iran’s Tasnim News reported.

  The IRGC Navy noted an environmental impact after the vessels caught fire, saying “the unauthorised route in the Strait of Hormuz is polluted and the owners and crews of the vessels are responsible for passing through these routes.”

  The IRGC warned shipping operators to “not pay attention to CENTCOM’s (US Central Command) illusions in cyberspace”, adding that “any provocative action” would be dealt with “decisively”.

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