Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is once again claiming a major incident near the Strait of Hormuz, saying a large oil tanker burst into flames after striking a naval mine while supposedly trying to sneak out of a restricted zone with its navigation systems switched off. The IRGC says the blast happened inside a declared hazardous area and that flames were visible from Iran's coast, and a video circulating online claims to show the burning vessel. But there is a major catch: the footage is actually a montage that ends with an IRGC emblem stamped on screen, and maritime trackers monitoring the region have already flagged it as fake due to visual inconsistencies that don't match a real-time incident.

This is far from the first time Iran's mine claims near Hormuz have fallen apart under scrutiny. Just last month, the IRGC made a nearly identical claim about the tanker El Gaia striking a mine, only for US Central Command to call the story false and say the ship had actually been hit by an Iranian missile and drone instead. The pattern fits into Iran's broader effort to project control over one of the world's busiest oil shipping lanes, even as multiple tankers have been genuinely struck by projectiles in the region in recent days. For now, this latest tanker fire claim remains unverified, and American officials have a long track record of dismissing Iran's mine-specific accounts as disinformation.