ERBIL () — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Friday that it had struck and detained a Togo-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz after the vessel allegedly attempted to make what Tehran called an “illegal passage.”
The IRGC identified the tanker as the Trend, saying it caught fire after being targeted and was subsequently stopped. The claim was reported by Iran’s state news agency IRNA.
The IRGC said the vessel had attempted to cross the strategic waterway outside Iran’s preferred route and warned that unauthorized vessels would face consequences.
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported a security incident in the Strait of Hormuz, about 16 nautical miles (29.6 kilometers) northeast of Khasab, Oman. UKMTO did not identify the vessel involved, and it remains unclear whether its report concerns the same tanker mentioned by Iran.
The incident comes as maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains sharply reduced amid the ongoing regional conflict. Preliminary data showed that only four commodity vessels transited the waterway on Thursday, compared with a 10-day average of 16.
There was no immediate independent confirmation of the IRGC’s account, and details regarding the tanker’s cargo, crew and possible casualties were not immediately available.
