Gulf of Oman: Islamic Republic's army reports another tanker on fire

The navy of the Islamic Republic's army announced on Thursday 15 October 2026 that its patrols had spotted a burning tanker east of the Strait of Hormuz, in the Gulf of Oman. According to the force, the tanker, with its tracking systems switched off, was passing through an area the Islamic Republic has declared "prohibited". The Islamic Republic's state radio and television broadcast the same account again on Friday 16 October.

This is the second similar claim in three days. On Tuesday 13 October the army's navy also reported a tanker on fire east of the Strait of Hormuz and said that ship, too, had entered the prohibited zone with its tracker switched off. In neither case have the tanker's name, flag, owner, the cause of the fire or the condition of the crew been given, and no independent maritime body had confirmed either incident at the time of publication.

Claims by the IRGC and the army in the Strait of Hormuz

The army navy's statement also claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is under the "full control and supervision" of that force and of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy. US Central Command (CENTCOM) has previously rejected similar claims, saying control of the strait is in the hands of the United States and its regional partners; CENTCOM had also called three IRGC claims about the Strait of Hormuz false.

On Wednesday 14 October the IRGC Navy also claimed that a container ship carrying more than 2,500 containers had sunk after hitting a sea mine on a "non-permitted" route south of the strait. Before that, Singapore's maritime authority had confirmed the sinking of the container ship "GFS Pride" after it was struck by a projectile.

The prohibited zone and attacks on shipping

Since the start of the war with the United States in February–March, the Islamic Republic has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed and has called part of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea a "prohibited zone". The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) has recorded at least 18 attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz since 23 September; in many of them, unidentified projectiles hit tankers and container ships and started fires.

The repeated account of an "offending tanker with its tracker switched off" in the Islamic Republic's military statements, with no ship named and no cause of the fire given, raises serious questions about the role of the Islamic Republic's forces in these fires, a role on which those statements are silent.

Twice in three days the Islamic Republic has reported a tanker on fire in an area it has itself called prohibited, with no ship named and no independent confirmation.