TEHRAN, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The navy of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Thursday that three "violating" oil tankers that sought to cross the Strait of Hormuz through the "unauthorized" route south of the waterway exploded and caught fire after striking naval mines over the past 24 hours.
In a statement on the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News, the navy said the vessels were abandoned off the strait's southern coasts.
It added the oil tankers had turned off all their radar and navigation systems and were trying to exit the strait through the "unauthorized" southern route in disregard of its warnings.
The IRGC Navy warned that the route has been mined and that vessel owners and crew will be responsible for the consequences of passage through it, stressing that they should not pay attention to U.S. Central Command's "delusions" on social media.
It underlined that reality will be determined on the ground, and that any provocative action taken with the "aggressive U.S. Army's support and malice," which disregards the regulations governing the strait, will be met with a decisive response.
Iran tightened its grip on the strait on Feb. 28, barring safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory.
In a separate statement on Thursday, the IRGC Navy said its electronic warfare unit managed within the preceding hours to take control of the guidance and navigation systems of a U.S. Army MQM-170 Outlaw "espionage and decoy" drone west of the strait and land it safely.
It added that the drone had been tasked with identifying Iran's air defense systems along the southern coasts, and data recovery showed it had taken off from the coast of a regional country.
In another statement on Thursday, the IRGC said its aerospace division's air defense systems shot down an MQ-1 Predator drone east of the strait within the preceding hour. It was the 14th MQ-1 intercepted by its air defense forces in recent months. ■
