IRGC: Four Tankers Caught Fire After Mine Strike In Western Hormuz
CENTCOM has consistently rejected the mine narrative, saying Iranian claims are false and that Iran uses missiles and drones in its Hormuz aggression, as Saudi shipping company Bahri confirmed two Filipino sailors were killed in a previous Hormuz incident
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Thursday, October 22, 2026, that four violating ships caught fire overnight after striking a naval mine in the western Strait of Hormuz, and that four oil tankers conducting ship-to-ship fuel transfers in the northern Persian Gulf were struck after being identified, in the most operationally detailed IRGC Hormuz statement in days, accompanied by a direct threat to expand confrontation to American bases in the region.
"four violating ships last night caught fire after hitting a naval mine in the west of the Strait of Hormuz," the IRGC said. "Four oil tankers conducting ship-to-ship fueling in the northern Persian Gulf were struck after being identified."
The IRGC warned that if the American military continues its current approach in the Strait of Hormuz, the scope of confrontation will expand to American bases in the region, and that Washington's insistence on provoking ships to transit what it described as the mined passage in the Strait of Hormuz is increasing the frequency of incidents.
CENTCOM's Position
CENTCOM has consistently and categorically rejected the mine narrative throughout the conflict. Following a previous tanker incident, CENTCOM's spokesman stated: "Iranian claims that tankers are hitting naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz are false. We have cleared the international waterways in the Strait of Hormuz of mines. Iran uses missiles and drones in its aggression in the Strait of Hormuz." CENTCOM also posted on X following a separate IRGC mine claim: "Like most IRGC claims, this is false."
The IRGC's competing account is that vessels are hitting mines after disabling their AIS tracking systems at American military instruction. CENTCOM says the ships are being struck by Iranian missiles and drones, not mines, and that the tracking systems are disabled for operational security reasons consistent with US military guidance to prevent Iran from locating vessels using Chinese commercial satellite imagery.
The Human Cost
Saudi state-owned shipping company Bahri confirmed that two Filipino sailors were killed during a previous Hormuz incident involving its vessel Sidr. Thirteen of a 14-person crew were rescued in a separate tanker strike near Oman in which the IRGC claimed a mine strike and CENTCOM said the vessel was hit by a missile and drone. The IMO Secretary General told Fox News on October 19 that approximately 6,000 seafarers have been stranded near Hormuz since hostilities began and called for a halt to transits pending security guarantees.
The Pattern
Thursday's announcement is the latest in a sustained series of IRGC mine claims in the Strait of Hormuz, with the IRGC having previously reported tanker mine strikes on October 12, 17, 19, and 21. The frequency of reported incidents is accelerating at a moment when US Envoy Witkoff is in St. Petersburg for talks that include the Iran file, Pakistan's army chief General Munir has just completed mediation talks in Tehran, and the Trump administration is weighing new military options against Iran after the November 3 midterms.