The Iranian Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday that Tehran received a message from U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, but has not responded yet, after the Wall Street Journal published a report on Wednesday stating that Vance sent a letter to Iranian National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei in an attempt to revive peace negotiations.
The message came at a time when the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced on Thursday that three oil tankers caught fire after colliding with naval mines while traversing a southern route in the Strait of Hormuz, while the Iranian army later announced that a fourth tanker experienced a similar incident east of the strait.
The Revolutionary Guard stated in a statement reported by the Vido news agency that the tankers used a route it described as unauthorized, accusing them of disrupting radar and navigation systems and ignoring warnings from its naval forces.
In a separate statement, the Iranian army reported that another tanker suffered damages and caught fire after colliding with naval mines in an area it described as prohibited and dangerous, resulting in its inability to move.
These developments come after the U.S. military announced that it had cleared key routes in the strait of naval mines, amid a dispute between Washington and Tehran regarding the safety of navigation in the strategic waterway.
The identities of the tankers or the flags they fly remain unclear, and no confirmed information regarding casualties has been available. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important maritime routes for transporting oil and gas globally, making any disruption in navigation there a concern for energy markets and international trade.