Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps News

The U.S. military said on Monday it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones as Tehran sought to thwart a new U.S. naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.U.S. President Donald Trump launched the operation, called Project Freedom, on Monday as he sought to wrest control of the critical waterway from Iran, which effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel started the conflict on February 28.U.S.

Donald Trump discussed how to mitigate the impact of a possible months-long U.S. blockade of Iran's ports with U.S. oil companies, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. president urged Tehran to 'get smart soon' and sign a deal.The talks with oil executives on Tuesday followed days of deadlock in efforts to resolve the conflict, which has led the U.S. to try to squeeze Iran's oil exports with a naval blockade to try to force it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.Trump…

Iran's use of a swarm of small, fast boats to seize two container ships near the Strait of Hormuz could undermine suggestions U.S. forces have disabled its naval threat and reveals the challenges facing reopening one of the world's most important oil export routes.U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday acknowledged that while Iran’s conventional navy had been largely destroyed, its "fast-attack ships" had not been considered much of a threat.He said any such vessels coming near a U.S.

Two container ships seized by Iran near the Strait of Hormuz with about 40 crew aboard have been taken toward the port of Bandar Abbas, sources said on Thursday, Tehran having vowed to retaliate after U.S. forces seized an Iranian vessel three days earlier.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the ships on Wednesday, one operated by MSC, the world's biggest container shipping group, and according to three sources, the other chartered by the firm."Some 20 Iranians armed to the teeth stormed the ship.

Safe and sustainable passage through the Strait of Hormuz is what top shipping companies require before the world's sees much oil or cargo leave or enter the Gulf, two top sector executives said on Wednesday."Two weeks ago when the ceasefire, said to be temporary, came into picture, we thought there was hope. But in reality, the agreement was not translated into the safety and passage (of the vessels)," Jotaro Tamura, chief executive of Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, told Reuters…

Oil prices jumped more than 6% in early Monday trading on fears that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran could collapse after the U.S. seized an Iranian cargo ship and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained largely halted.Brent crude futures LCOc1 advanced $5.51, or 6.1%, to $95.89 a barrel by 0752 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was up $5.46, or 6.5%, at $89.31.Both contracts tumbled by 9% on Friday, their largest daily declines since April 18, after…

U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Monday that any Iranian "fast-attack" ships that go near a U.S. maritime blockade on Iran would be eliminated.Trump made the threat shortly after the U.S. blockade on vessels entering and departing Iran had been due to come into effect at 1400 GMT on Monday.Describing Iran's navy as "completely obliterated" during the six-week-long war between the U.S. and Iran, Trump posted on Truth Social: "What we have not hit are their small number of…

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stood at well below 10% of normal volumes on Thursday despite a U.S.-Iran ceasefire as Tehran asserted its control by warning ships to keep to its territorial waters while doing so.Hundreds of tankers and other ships have been stuck inside the Gulf since the Iran war began on Feb 28, cutting global oil supply by 20% in the world's biggest-ever supply disruption. Prices for some physical oil grades hit fresh all-time highs on Thursday as the crisis showed little signs of abating.Iran must open the strait without conditions…

An oil tanker leased to state-owned QatarEnergy was hit by an Iranian cruise missile on Wednesday in Qatari waters, the defence ministry said.Qatar was targeted by three cruise missiles coming from Iran. Two were intercepted while the third hit the Aqua 1 fuel oil tanker, but caused no casualties.Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said they had targeted the oil tanker because of what they said were its ties with Israel."Aqua One was precisely targeted in the central region of the Persian Gulf in a missile battle…

Iran attacked a fully-loaded crude oil tanker at Dubai Port's anchorage on Monday, setting it ablaze and damaging its hull, Kuwait's state news agency reported, citing Kuwait Petroleum Corp, which warned of a possible oil spill.The apparent strike is just the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels by missiles or explosive air and sea drones in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose more than…

Several U.S. allies rebuffed Donald Trump's call on Monday to send warships to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, drawing criticism from the U.S. president, who accused Western partners of ingratitude after decades of support.The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is in its third week with no end in sight. The critical Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flow, remains largely closed off, raising energy prices and fears of inflation.The conflict has already imposed economic costs on U.S.

The United States issued a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea in what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was a step to stabilize global energy markets roiled by the Iran war.The announcement comes a day after the U.S. Energy Department said that the U.S. would be releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve in an effort to curb sky-rocketing oil prices in the wake of the war in Iran.That…

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on more than 30 individuals, entities and "shadow fleet" vessels it said enabled Iran's illicit petroleum sales, ballistic missiles and weapons production.Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control also targeted multiple networks that enable Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics to secure the precursor materials and machinery required for ballistic missile and other weapons production…

Iran confirmed on Saturday that its Revolutionary Guards had seized a tanker in Gulf waters carrying a cargo of petrochemicals bound for Singapore over alleged violations, Iranian state media reported.A U.S. official and maritime security sources had said on Friday that Iranian forces intercepted the oil products tanker and diverted it into Iranian territorial waters. It was the first report of Tehran seizing a tanker since Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran in June.Iranian state-run…

Vessels in the northern Gulf have received multiple VHF radio challenges, including demands to alter course, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Friday, adding they could be part of an Iranian military exercise.The UKMTO, which monitors marine security in the region, advised seafarers that vessels near Iranian waters may experience such VHF hailing during the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' exercise.Naval units from the Revolutionary Guards were conducting operations in the Gulf's Strait of Hormuz on Friday as part of the exercise…

Two Iranian cargo vessels carrying an ingredient for missile propellant will sail from China to Iran in the next few weeks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing intelligence from security officials in two Western countries.The reported transactions could make the Chinese entities involved subject to U.S. sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's weapons programs, as the two Iranian vessels are already under U.S. sanctions.The FT said the Iranian-flagged ships, the Golbon and the Jairan…

A U.S. federal court has charged three men, including two Iranian brothers and a Pakistani national, for an attempt to smuggle Iranian weapons that would be used by Houthi rebels for attacks on maritime shipping.According to the court documents, Shahab Mir’kazei and Yunus Mir’kazei work for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, while Muhammad Pahlawan, is a Pakistani citizen who allegedly worked for the Mir’kazei brothers as the captain of a dhow used as a smuggling vessel.Pahlawan allegedly worked with Shahab to prepare the dhow for multiple smuggling voyages…

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has intercepted a Togo-flagged, UAE-managed products tanker carrying 1,500 tons of marine gas oil, the IRGC and British security firm Ambrey said on Monday.The vessel had loaded marine gas oil off the coast of Iraq and was destined for UAE's Sharjah when it was intercepted on Sunday, 61 nautical miles southwest of Iran's port of Bushehr, Ambrey said.Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Navy confirmed seizure of the tanker in a statement quoted by Iran's state news agency, saying "the tanker was systematically engaged in fuel smuggling ...

The United States targeted Iranian and Houthi commanders and a vessel that shipped more than $100 million in Iranian commodities to businesses in China in sanctions announced on Tuesday.Mohammad Reza Falahzadeh, deputy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), and Ibrahim al-Nashiri, a member of Yemen's Houthi militia, were designated under the sanctions, the Treasury Department said.The Iranian military has provided weapons and intelligence support to the Houthis that support the group's attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea…

Iran seized a tanker with Iraqi crude destined for Turkey on Thursday in retaliation for the confiscation last year of the same vessel and its oil by the U.S., Iranian state media reported, a move likely to stoke regional tensions.The seizure of the Marshall Islands-flagged St Nikolas coincides with weeks of attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militias targeting Red Sea shipping routes."After the theft of Iranian oil by the United States last year, St Nikolas tanker was seized by Iran's Navy this morning with a judicial order ...

When the United States and 11 allies published a joint statement last week calling for an end to Houthi attacks from Yemen on Red Sea shipping, they hoped the implicit threat of force might at least reduce the intensity of fire on foreign vessels.Instead, Wednesday saw the largest single attack yet on foreign vessels, according to Western defence officials, launched seven days after the joint statement. It appeared a clear attempt to call the West's bluff, just as other tensions across the Middle East appear to be on the rise.In Iraq and Syria, U.S.

An oil tanker caught up in a dispute last year between the United States and Iran was boarded by armed individuals off the coast of Oman on Thursday and appeared to have changed course towards Iran, according to UK maritime sources.The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker St Nikolas was boarded by armed intruders as it sailed close to the Omani city of Sohar, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, and its AIS tracking system was turned off as it headed in the direction…

The United States believes that Iran is involved in the planning and execution of drone and missile attacks by Yemen's Houthi group on Israel and ships in the Red Sea, a senior aide to U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday.The comments by deputy White House national security adviser Jon Finer are among the most explicit to date by a U.S. official alleging Iranian involvement in the Houthi attacks.Finer spoke hours after the United States imposed new sanctions aimed at throttling what U.S.