Iran's Revolutionary Guards Claim Drone Strikes on Tankers in Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Saturday, March 7, that it had carried out drone attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.

In a statement carried by the Mizan news agency, the IRGC's press service stated that a tanker was targeted after ignoring repeated warnings from its naval forces. "This morning, a tanker... After ignoring repeated warnings from the IRGC Navy about the ban on movement and the insecurity of the Strait of Hormuz, was attacked by a 'kamikaze' drone," the statement read.

The targeted vessel was identified as the tanker Prima. The IRGC claimed it had disregarded Iranian military warnings about prohibited movement and unsafe conditions in the strategic waterway.

A second vessel was also struck. Iranian forces described another tanker as "one of the assets of the United States." State television reported that an attack was carried out in the afternoon using a drone against the tanker Louise P, which was sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands in the Persian Gulf.

These maritime strikes are part of a broader regional escalation. Iran has been targeting American military assets in the Middle East and Israeli territory in retaliation for attacks from the United States and Israel. The conflict intensified significantly on February 28 when a girls' school in southern Iran was hit, resulting in casualties that included Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to Iran's permanent representative to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, the total number of victims from these attacks has now exceeded 1,300 people.