TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Friday said three oil tankers had been halted after encountering unspecified “incidents” or hitting mines while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz. “Two offending oil tankers, one in the eastern part and the other in the western part of the Strait of Hormuz, which were attempting to pass through the unauthorized route, encountered incidents and were brought to a halt in the waters south of the strait,” the IRGC said in a statement. The tankers had “switched off all their navigation and positioning systems and, with the support of the terrorist US military, were attempting to exit through the unauthorized route,” the statement added. The Guards did not specify the nature of the incidents, which came a day after Iran’s armed forces said at least four tankers had stopped in the area after hitting mines. They said Friday’s incidents occurred after the vessels received several radio warnings but disregarded them. The IRGC later said in a separate statement that a supertanker carrying two million barrels of oil had come to a halt following an explosion “after striking a naval mine while navigating an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz.” “This is the third oil tanker to have exploded and caught fire today as a result of attempting to pass through an unauthorized route,” it added. Iran’s army also reported that two tankers had been seen on fire after hitting mines in the eastern part of the waterway. It was not immediately clear whether the two vessels reported by the army were the same as those reported by the IRGC. Iranian forces have demanded that vessels use a designated route through the strait and coordinate their passage with the country’s armed forces, labelling a southern corridor closer to Oman’s shores as unauthorized. Iran has restricted maritime traffic through the strategic waterway since the Middle East war began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The United States has in turn imposed a blockade on Iranian ports, further restricting Tehran’s ability to export oil and conduct trade.