Iran just set the Strait of Hormuz on fire and America says it's lying

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Navy says at least three separate tankers have hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz in the past three days.

So what's the pattern? Every time, Iran tells the same story.

A tanker switches off its tracking systems. It tries to cross through a route Iran hasn't approved. Then it hits a mine.

The most recent happened earlier today. A tanker caught fire after hitting a mine on what Iran's IRGC Navy called an unauthorised southern route, navigation switched off.

The day before, Iran says two other tankers caught fire the same way.

And three days ago, two more separate supertankers hit mines, Iran says — each one supposedly carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil.

None of these ships has been named. Not one. And nobody outside Iran's military has confirmed any of their navigation systems were actually switched off.

Iran says the US military misled or supported these ships into trying the crossing.

Here's the IRGC Navy's statement, in its own words. It says quote "burning in the fire of trust in the terrorist US army".

That's Iran saying it still controls who passes through the strait. And that it's willing to let ships burn to prove it.

The United States says that's not true.

US Central Command says it has cleared the strait's main routes of mines completely. It says these ships aren't hitting mines at all. It says Iranian forces are firing projectiles at them.

CENTCOM made that exact argument once already this month. A civilian container ship, the M/V GFS Pride, was hit on 14 October. Iran said mine. CENTCOM said projectile. The ship sank while it was being towed to shore.

Admiral Brad Cooper runs CENTCOM. He says quote "the Strait of Hormuz is controlled by the United States and our regional partners, not Iran".

So there it is. Two militaries. Same stretch of water. Same week. Completely opposite claims.

Cooper also says around 400 ships carrying roughly 100 million barrels of oil have passed through the strait over the past week, attacks and all. He says a US naval blockade on Iranian ports has cost Iran 25 billion dollars in oil export income. And that the US has seized 350 million dollars in Iranian cryptocurrency financing.