Shafaq News- Tehran

An oil tanker exploded upon striking a sea mine in the Strait of Hormuz after deviating from a shipping route designated by Iran, the Iranian Mehr News Agency reported on Sunday, citing an informed source.

The identity and flag of the vessel were not disclosed.

Tehran had repeatedly warned that ships departing from the designated corridor would bear the consequences, according to the source.

Senior Iranian officials asserted Tehran's authority to regulate navigation through the strategic waterway. Iran's deputy foreign minister previously said Tehran had informed Oman of its decision to alter shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that conditions in the waterway "would not return to how they were before the war." Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf noted that regulating navigation in the Strait was "Iran's right" and that Tehran “would not relinquish it.”