ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Saturday that a second oil supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of oil had exploded after hitting a naval mine while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz via what it described as an unauthorized route.

“This morning, the second offending supertanker burst into flames after hitting a naval mine,” the IRGC Navy’s public relations office announced.

The force said the vessel had attempted to pass through an “illegal route” after turning off “all its positioning and radar systems” to evade detection, saying it was carrying more than two million barrels of oil.

A similar incident occurred Friday morning, when “a rogue supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil … exploded and caught fire after hitting a mine,” according to the force.

The IRGC also claimed the tanker had attempted to “pass through the unauthorized route of the Strait of Hormuz.”

Iran moved to restrict passage through the strait following the outbreak of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran in February. US forces later imposed a counter-blockade. Despite a memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached in June, the waterway remains blocked, disrupting a major route for global energy shipments.

“The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and the result of ships violating Iranian regulations in the Strait of Hormuz is burning in the fire of trust of the American terrorist army,” the IRGC warned.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported Saturday that a tanker had been attacked in the Persian Gulf on Friday by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fired from a small boat 78 nautical miles northeast of Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The attack damaged the vessel’s aft port quarter. The crew was safe, but the extent of the damage and any environmental impact remained unknown, UKMTO said.

Earlier Saturday, UKMTO reported that an unknown projectile had struck another tanker Friday, 68 nautical miles northeast of Al Jubail. All crew members were reported safe and had been evacuated, with no environmental impact reported.

Washington and Tehran reached an MoU on June 17 to end hostilities and resume negotiations for 60 days. A key Washington condition in the MoU was free navigation in the strait.

The deal fell apart only 21 days later after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Iranian forces had attacked a Cyprus-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz.