Iran: tanker exploded in Strait of Hormuz; US denies claims

The Navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says a super oil tanker exploded and caught fire after hitting naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a claim the US has denied.

Meanwhile, US Vice-President JD Vance says the Trump administration is "very much on top of" the Houthi seizure of more key islands in the Red Sea.

According to the Navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the oil tanker was seeking to cross the Strait of Hormuz via the "forbidden" route in the southern waterway when the incident occurred.

On the same day, the US side rejected this account, saying the tanker caught fire after being hit by a drone attack.

Warnings about the dangers of this route had been issued previously, according to the statement published on the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News.

In the statement, the IRGC Navy said that the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked and remains under Iran's "smart control".

Meanwhile, US Vice-President JD Vance said the Trump administration is "very much on top of" the Houthi seizure of more key islands in the Red Sea.

US Vice-President JD VANCE: "You know, concerned certainly. It's something that we're keeping pretty close tabs on. We've been in constant contact with the Emiratis, the Saudis, and others who are affected in the region. So it's something the United States administration is very much on top of. We've also been engaged in direct conversations with the Houthis themselves. So we actually feel like we are on top of the situation. It's a very fluid and dynamic thing, but we're going to keep on monitoring it and making sure that Americans' best interests are represented."

The Houthi rebels continued to expand their threat to Saudi shipping routes out of the Red Sea by capturing the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish.

The islands lie 160 kilometres north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The strait is a choke point that connects the Red Sea to the open ocean and Saudi Arabia's key Asian markets.

The Houthis' advance also puts them near the US military base in the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, on the other side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.