Iran said four oil tankers caught fire and exploded in the Strait of Hormuz. Separate maritime and drone claims deepened tensions along the vital energy route.Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, October 2, 2026.

Tensions escalated in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday after Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy claimed that four oil tankers caught fire and exploded while attempting to navigate routes it had not authorised. The developments came alongside separate reports of a tanker being struck by an unidentified projectile and Iranian claims of downing a US drone and destroying an unmanned naval vessel.In its latest statement, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said a fourth tanker, carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil, had struck a naval mine, triggering a powerful explosion and a fire.An earlier statement by the force had also reported that another tanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil hit a naval mine.Iranian state media reported the claims, but Reuters said it could not independently verify them.

UK AGENCY REPORTS TANKER HIT BY UNIDENTIFIED PROJECTILESeparately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had received reports of an incident involving a crude oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.According to a verified source cited by the agency, a tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile while completing its outbound transit through the waterway. In an earlier update, UKMTO said a vessel had been hit on its port side by an unknown projectile approximately 40 nautical miles (74 km) south of Iran's Lavan Island, setting off a fire onboard.The agency said all crew members were safe and there had been no reported environmental impact.Lavan Island is located off Iran's southern coast in the Gulf.

It was not immediately clear whether the vessel reported by UKMTO was among the four tankers mentioned by the IRGC Navy.IRAN CLAIMS US DRONE DOWNED, UNMANNED VESSEL DESTROYEDIranian state media also reported that its forces had shot down and captured an American MQM-170 drone over Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz. There was no immediate response from the US military.In another announcement, Iran said it had destroyed an unmanned US naval vessel in the eastern Strait of Hormuz.However, the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) rejected the claim, saying that all American unmanned surface vessels deployed in the Middle East had been accounted for."All US military unmanned surface vessels in the Middle East are accounted for, including a squadron of advanced sea drones on patrol in the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM said in a statement on X.STRAIT OF HORMUZ REMAINS FLASHPOINT AMID US-IRAN TENSIONSThe latest reports come amid sustained tensions in the Strait of Hormuz following US and Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of February.The strategic waterway, which connects the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, is a critical global energy shipping route, carrying around one-fifth of the world's oil supplies.Any disruption to tanker movement through the strait has significant implications for international energy markets and shipping, making the latest reports of explosions, fires and attacks particularly significant.- EndsWith inputs from