Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two oil tankers "struck mines and caught fire" in the Strait of Hormuz after their crews disembarked and the vessels were used to attempt an unauthorised transit, in a statement carried by IMNA.

The claim points to the danger the mined waterway now poses to shipping, as the IRGC enforces its control of the strait with threats against vessels that defy its transit rules, deepening the disruption to a route that has stayed largely shut through the war with the United States. The account could not be independently verified, and there was no confirmation from the US or the shipping operators.

The IRGC, in its eighth wartime communiqué, said the two tankers had disembarked their crews at the instigation of the US military and been placed at the disposal of American operatives to cross by an illegal route, before hitting mines, exploding and burning. It said the vessels were stopped as a result.

The naval force had previously warned of the dangers of crossing the mined passage, the IRGC said, adding that additional penalties were planned for maritime companies that put their vessels at the disposal of the US rather than following what it called the legal route, to be enforced soon.

The IRGC said the mining would not weaken its control of the Strait of Hormuz. The statement also accused US forces of striking a wedding celebration the previous night to intimidate the population, a reference to the reported strike on a wedding at the port of Kuhestak in Sirik district, in which a Hormozgan provincial official said five people were killed and 68 wounded.

Iran has maintained controls on Gulf shipping since it closed the strait early in the war, laying sea mines and boarding vessels, while a US naval blockade has cut off most Iranian crude exports. US Central Command said it struck IRGC targets in Iran on September 1, citing attempted Iranian attacks on Gulf shipping and American forces.

The war began on February 28, when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran and killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world's oil and gas passed before the conflict.