ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy on Friday said three oil tankers attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz through an “unauthorized route” with US support went up in flames, coming as Iranian attacks on commercial shipping continue.

The two tankers had turned off their navigation systems “with the support of the American terrorist army” and were trying to exit the Strait of Hormuz through an “unauthorized route,” the IRGC said.

“The halt and fire on board these violating vessels are a result of the malicious actions of the American terrorist army and the disregard and violation of Iranian regulations in the Strait of Hormuz,” the IRGC said.

Later, the force announced that a third vessels had gone up in flames, noting that it too "exploded and caught fire due to passing through an unauthorized route."

Iran has frequently attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz, while also claiming some other tankers struck sea mines laid failing to heed Iranian-approved navigation routes.

However, the veracity of Tehran's claims to have riddled the Strait with mines is unknown, with US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Brad Cooper on Friday reiterating a long-standing claim that all underwater explosives have been removed by the US military.

Cooper also reasserted that the US has escorted $1.5 billion worth of oil since summer in coordination with Gulf partners, while claiming that Iran has not been able to export any oil via the Strait due to the US blockade.

The British maritime agency UKMTO said Friday a tanker transiting out of the Strait of Hormuz had caught fire after a small boat allegedly attached two explosive devices to its hull a day earlier, while “subsequent blasts resulted in a fire in the engine room which temporarily disabled the vessel.”

Iran shut the key Strait of Hormuz in late February as a means in its war against the US and Israel, sharply driving up global oil prices. The US has also imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

It also established the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) in May to regulate transit through the Strait of Hormuz and tighten its chokehold on the vital waterway.

Free navigation in the waterway was one of Washington’s key conditions for the memorandum of understanding (MoU) the warring parties signed in June. The deal collapsed weeks later after CENTCOM said Iran had attacked a Cyprus-flagged ship in the waterway.

The US has also imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.