In a statement released on Friday, the IRGC Navy said the two tankers had attempted to transit the southern part of the strategic waterway via an unauthorized passage.

According to the statement, the vessels struck naval mines, triggering explosions and intense fires that disabled their engine rooms and brought the tankers to a halt.

The two supertankers were carrying a combined total of more than 4.5 million barrels of crude oil, the statement said, adding that the vessels had been abandoned by their crews after striking the mines off the southern coast of the Strait of Hormuz.