Two statements from Centcom and the Revolutionary Guard regarding the disruption and explosion of ships in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz

On Saturday, the US Central Command (Centcom) announced the disabling of a commercial ship in the Gulf of Oman, noting that it attempted to violate the naval blockade imposed on Iran, at a time when the Iranian Revolutionary Guard indicated the explosion and ignition of two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Centcom said in a statement that it “disabled a commercial ship in the Gulf of Oman on November 7, after its civilian crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to violate the naval blockade imposed on Iran on several occasions.”

He continued: "An American military aircraft fired precision-guided munitions towards the stern of the ship Huda (M/V Huda), flying the St. Kitts flag, which led to its disabling, after Central Command forces directed the crew to evacuate the targeted parts of the ship." The statement noted that the ship was trying to leave territorial waters after visiting an Iranian port.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced, in a statement carried by the semi-official Iranian Tasnim Agency, the explosion and ignition of two “violating” oil tankers, one of which was east of the Strait of Hormuz and the other inside the strait. The statement added that the two ships were "intending to cross an unauthorized route, and collided with a sea mine, and a very intense fire is currently breaking out in them."

He added, "These two tankers had committed multiple violations, and stopped their navigation and positioning systems with the intention of crossing the unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz, which led to them colliding with a mine, exploding, and catching fire." In recent months, the naval blockade imposed by the United States has succeeded in preventing Iran from exporting more than $25 billion worth of crude oil.

Strict enforcement operations continue at sea against all ships entering or leaving Iranian ports, according to Centcom. Eight months after the start of the conflict, the war has reached a stalemate, with a decline in military operations and the absence of any tangible diplomatic progress.

In the past few weeks, Iranian negotiators moved between Tehran and Doha, while Qatari mediators sought to bring the views of the two parties closer together, hoping to reach an agreement that would pave the way for negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program and end the war.