Five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and army said in separate statements on Thursday.
The Guards said a large tanker trying to pass through what they called an illegal passage south of the strait caught fire after striking a mine, while another supertanker was halted by a large fire as it left the eastern end of the strait. A tugboat that went to help put out the fire also caught fire, they said.
The Iranian army later said three more tankers had struck naval mines and caught fire in waters east of the strait.
There has been no confirmation of the incidents from maritime officials. Separately, the British maritime monitor UKMTO reported that a tanker was hit by two unidentified projectiles about 50 nautical miles off the north coast of Qatar, without giving details of any damage or casualties.
Since the Iran war broke out in late February, Tehran has severely restricted traffic through the waterway, which normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil consumption, and regularly attacks ships it accuses of passing without its permission.
The US military has responded with a blockade of Iranian ports and has helped tankers travel through the strait. Last month, it said it had helped Gulf countries export 1.5 billion barrels of oil through Hormuz since the summer.