ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Saturday warned it was “waiting” for US forces in the strategic Strait of Hormuz after Washington said it could escort oil tankers through the waterway if needed.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said that the US Navy "will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz" if necessary, seeking to avoid potentially severe worldwide economic consequences should the strait be restricted.

Iran has previously warned it could block the Strait of Hormuz, but since the war with Israel and the United States began, it has issued contradictory statements, at times suggesting it could close the waterway and later denying it.

"We are waiting for their presence," IRGC spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini said on Saturday, as cited by Fars News Agency. 

"We recommend that before making any decision, the Americans remember the fire of the American supertanker Bridgeton in 1987 and the oil tankers that were recently targeted," Naini added. 

The incident he referenced refers to the damage caused to the SS Bridgeton when it struck an Iranian landmine in the Persian Gulf as it was participating in a US-led operation to protect Kuwaiti oil tankers during the Iran-Iraq War.

Reports from the IRGC’s public relations said earlier on Saturday that “an oil tanker with the trade name Prima was hit by a drone after ignoring the IRGC Navy's repeated warnings to prohibit traffic and that the Strait of Hormuz was unsafe.”

“Oil tankers and commercial vessels allied with the warring countries are not allowed to pass through this strait,” it added.

The waterway is one of the world’s most important shipping routes and its most vital oil transit chokepoint, having often been the site of naval confrontations between the IRGC and the US Navy.