The Revolutionary Guard announces the sinking of a ship in Hormuz that “took a forbidden path”

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At a time when Washington renewed its warnings to Tehran about the possibility of resuming military operations, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced, on Wednesday, the sinking of a container ship that it said collided with a sea mine while trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz via an “unpermitted” route.

The Public Relations of the Revolutionary Guards Naval Forces said that the container ship, which it described as “violating,” was trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz “through an unauthorized and dangerous route in the Strait of Hormuz, which led to it colliding with a sea mine, and causing a severe fire to break out on board.”

It also indicated that "the ship, which was carrying more than 2,500 containers, sank in the southern waters of the Strait of Hormuz, as a result of the severity of the fire," according to what was reported by the Iranian Mehr Agency.

The announcement did not specify the name of the ship or the flag it was flying, and no independent information was available to confirm the circumstances of the accident.

The sinking of the ship came in light of the escalation of risks facing navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, with continued military tension between Iran and the United States, and increasing fears of sea mines and restrictions imposed on the crossing of ships.

Last Sunday, the Revolutionary Guard announced that a giant oil tanker collided with a sea mine while trying to cross the strait via the southern route, which led to an explosion and a fire in its engine room. While the Iranian "ISNA" agency reported at the time that the tanker was the third that the Revolutionary Guard described as a "violation" and had been on fire since Saturday, which means that 4 tankers and ships had sunk since the beginning of this week.

These incidents come in the context of repeated Iranian threats to ships attempting to cross without adhering to the restrictions imposed by Tehran, while concerns are growing about the safety of vital sea lanes and the impact of continued escalation on global energy supplies.

Note that estimates related to the number of Iranian naval mines raise additional concerns about the security of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters, as estimates range between about 5,000 mines according to Iranian estimates, and up to 12,000 according to American estimates, and these numbers could not be independently verified.

On the diplomatic track, Iran had previously presented a proposal during the United Nations General Assembly meetings stipulating that it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume normal navigation within seven days, provided that a set of conditions were met, while Trump rejected the plan in its initial form before discussions were held to add amendments to it.

On the other hand, Trump escalated his tone towards Iran during an election rally in the city of Wasilla, Alaska, yesterday, Tuesday, saying: “Wait and see what we will do with Iran. We will deal it a strong blow.”

His statements coincided with the revelation of American and Israeli sources that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possibility of launching a new broad military operation against Iran before the Israeli elections and the American midterm elections, amid Israeli fears of Iranian moves to rebuild its nuclear capabilities.

The continuation of these risks places navigation in the strait facing security and economic challenges, given its importance in transporting global energy supplies.