An oil tanker exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after striking a sea mine, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported today, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
According to the agency, the tanker hit the mine after deviating from the Iranian-designated route in the strategic waterway.
Iranian authorities have not yet officially commented on the incident.
Iran insists that ships in the Strait of Hormuz use the northern corridor, which passes through Iranian territorial waters, and receive prior permission from Tehran. Iranian authorities have described only this route as "safe" and warned that they would not be responsible for passing through other places.
Iran stopped striking neighboring Persian Gulf states two days ago because the United States had stopped bombing Iranian territory, the Iranian military said today, stressing that Tehran's strategy was based on "retaliatory actions," AFP reported hours earlier.
"Over the past two nights, the Americans stopped their attacks. Since our strategy is mainly based on retaliation, we also stopped our operations," spokesman Mohammad Akramian said in an interview with state television.
No American bombings were reported in Iran at dawn this morning. It was the second consecutive night of a lull in hostilities, while American media reported a possible shortage of ammunition after nearly five months of war. In the capital Tehran, which was not hit by the bombings, life went on as normal amid the usual traffic jams and heatwave, AFP's team on the ground reported.
Although President Donald Trump said on Friday he did not rule out more bombing, the lull is remarkable after two weeks of strikes at an unprecedented intensity since a ceasefire in April.
Iran has not claimed responsibility for any attacks on its Gulf allies, which did not report any airstrikes overnight.
According to the “New York Times“, citing two sources familiar with the matter, the US government is concerned about the reduction in the stockpile of interceptors for the “Patriot“ missile defense systems and other defense equipment protecting regional U.S. allies that Iran has attacked in response to U.S. strikes. CNN, citing a Defense Department source, also said that military operations against Iran had been “paused”, citing the same reasons.