Four tankers destroyed by naval mines in Strait of Hormuz, Iran's IRGC says

Four oil tankers were destroyed after hitting naval sea mines, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday, a day after US officials said the US military had launched strikes on the country.

The IRGC said two of the vessels were still burning, and two additional tankers had been seized, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. It said they were trying to travel through a prohibited southern route in the Strait of Hormuz.

The BBC has not independently verified the IRGC's claim, which came as US voters punished Republicans at the midterm elections, leading Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, to say the results showed Americans had said no to war.

He warned Washington not to betray its public.

The IRCG also reported three tankers had been destroyed after hitting mines early on Tuesday, and that they had shot down an MQ-9 drone over the Strait.

The earlier US strikes on Qeshm were in response to the IRGC firing on a US aircraft.

Ghalibaf, who is also Iran's parliamentary speaker, posted on X, external that the midterm results showed that whether it was "conscience or the cost of living, Americans said no to war, and we endorse this message".

"If the US govt betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our 'no' comes with a nightmare."

Kaynak: BBC News World RSS (Açık Basın / Haber Servisi)