Tehran: Four oil tankers caught fire after striking sea mines while attempting to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's armed forces said Thursday, contradicting US military assertions that primary routes through the strategic waterway had been cleared.

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"Over the past 24 hours, three violating oil tankers exploded and caught fire after striking mines while attempting to pass through the unauthorised southern route of the Strait of Hormuz," Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement.

Later on Thursday, Iran's army reported that a fourth tanker caught fire east of the strait after hitting mines while "operating in a restricted and dangerous area".

The initial three vessels had "switched off all their radar and navigation systems" and ignored warnings issued by the IRGC navy, according to the statement.

It was not immediately clear when the explosions occurred or which national flags the tankers were flying.

Meanwhile, British maritime agency UKMTO stated late Thursday that it received reports of a vessel on fire approximately 25 nautical miles (46 kilometres) northeast of Khasab, Oman, within the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier in the day, UKMTO documented two additional incidents in the vicinity: a dhow that caught fire and sank following a maritime security event, and a tanker hit by an unidentified projectile while transiting the waterway.

In recent weeks, Iran has reported multiple vessels striking naval mines, prompting U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in the region, to reiterate via social media that all mines along "primary transit routes" had been cleared.

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On Thursday, IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi challenged the American statement, posting on X: "Prove your Hormuz mine-clearing claim with independent evidence, not statements!"

Since the outbreak of hostilities on February 28, Iran has severely restricted shipping through the vital bottleneck, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption typically passes.

In response, the United States enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports and escorted commercial tankers through the passage. On Sunday, CENTCOM claimed it had assisted Gulf nations in exporting 1.5 billion barrels of crude through Hormuz since the summer.

Tehran considers any vessels utilising the southern corridor along the Omani coastline to be operating without authorization.

In their Thursday statement, the Revolutionary Guards warned that "the unauthorised route through the Strait of Hormuz is mined, and that vessel owners and crews are responsible for transiting these routes and should not pay attention to CENTCOM's delusions on social media".

In a separate announcement, the IRGC claimed to have seized an American reconnaissance drone.

"The IRGC Navy announced that its electronic warfare unit had successfully captured a US MQM-170 drone during an offensive operation in the western Strait of Hormuz," the statement read.

AFP