TEHRAN, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Iran said Friday it had struck an "enemy" unmanned surface vehicle (USV) east of the Strait of Hormuz, and that several "violating" oil tankers caught fire in separate incidents in the waterway, as a Qatari delegation visited Tehran.
The Iranian Army's Navy said in a statement that its forces destroyed the USV as it was moving and operating east of the strait, according to the army's website.
It added that two "violating" oil tankers, which had turned off their tracking systems and entered the "forbidden and unsafe" regions east of the waterway, were damaged after striking naval mines and caught fire.
Separately, the navy of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps said in a statement that two "violating" oil tankers, one east of the strait and the other west, sought to cross the waterway through the "unauthorized" route and were stopped in the strait's southern waters after earlier incidents.
It added that a supertanker, carrying over 2 million barrels of oil, also exploded and caught fire after hitting naval mines on the strait's "unauthorized" route.
Also on Friday, the Qatari delegation arrived in Tehran for talks with senior Iranian officials on bilateral ties and regional developments, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.
The delegation is headed by a senior advisor to Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, IRNA said.
The visit comes after the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Thursday that Iran had received a letter from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, which U.S. media said was aimed at restarting peace negotiations and avoiding another war between the two countries.
Iran conveyed a seven-day plan containing its conditions for ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz to the United States through mediators on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22. Tehran and Washington have reportedly continued exchanging messages on the proposal through intermediaries, including Qatar.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz. ■
