IRGC announces the destruction of three violating oil tankers and several U.S. drones, including MQ-9 Reapers and LUCAS aircraft, as Major General Abdollahi declares a shift from defensive posture to offensive initiative.

TEHRAN – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Tuesday that three violating oil tankers exploded and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, as a senior commander declared that Iran has emerged as a "fourth pole of power" through its control of the vital waterway.

The IRGC’s Navy public relations office said in a statement that "since the early hours of this morning [Tuesday] until now, three violating oil tankers in the unauthorized route of the Strait of Hormuz have suffered explosions and severe fires, in a way that fishermen in the eastern part of the Strait of Hormuz experienced a bright night."

The tankers "exploded after hitting a sea mine due to turning off their navigation and identification systems and passing through unauthorized routes of the Strait of Hormuz, and have been abandoned and are burning on the southern shores of the Strait of Hormuz," the statement said.

The IRGC’s Navy said that "Iranian regulations of the Strait of Hormuz have been announced many times through radio stations and announcements of the IRGC Navy to all ships, and disobedience and disregard of these regulations by vessels and accompaniment with the invading U.S. army to pass through unauthorized routes of the Strait of Hormuz will be accompanied by such incidents."

The public relations office of the IRGC’s Imam Sajjad Corps in Hormozgan province announced that "two American LUCAS drones were destroyed in the sky over Bandar Khamir by the fire of the air defense of the warriors of the IRGC and under the cover of the country's integrated air defense network".

The IRGC’s public relations office said in a separate statement that "moments ago, the 55th advanced MQ-9 drone was intercepted and destroyed by the Aerospace Force's new advanced defense system and under the control of the country's integrated air defense network in the sky east of the Strait of Hormuz."

It said that "two U.S. MQM-170 reconnaissance drones were grounded in the sky south of Qeshm Island by the action of the advanced electronic warfare systems of the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps," adding that "counting these two, the number of American drones of this type that have fallen into the hands of the Guards' elite officers has reached four."

"Thus, the invading American enemy once again failed to achieve its intended objectives from the use of these drones and, by the grace of God, another page of defeat and failure was added to the black record of the terrorist commander of CENTCOM, Brad Cooper," the statement said.

The IRGC also released footage showing "the moment of direct impact of a defense missile on an advanced American MQ-9 Reaper drone in the sky east of the Strait of Hormuz," describing the aircraft as "one of the most valuable reconnaissance and combat drones of the invading American army."

Counting the interception, the number of U.S. MQ-9 drones whose destruction has been announced has reached 55 — "a statistic that indicates heavy damage to the American drone fleet," Tasnim said.

After the announcements, reports said several explosions were heard on Qeshm Island and in Bandar Lengeh, with the nature of the blasts not immediately clear, and that air defence systems were activated at the Omidiyeh air base in Khuzestan province.

The announcement came as Major General Ali Abdollahi, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, issued a message marking 13 Aban, the national day of struggle against global arrogance.

"Today, the combined battle of Iran and America, beyond a military war, is shifting the geometry of global power, and powerful Iran has emerged as the fourth pole of power through the control of the Strait of Hormuz as the vital energy chokepoint and the determination of the rules of access to it; and the unipolar order has kneeled before this new reality that: 'Nations and regional powers can provide their security without relying on the American security umbrella,'" Abdollahi said.

He said that "military power is not a goal for us; it is a tool. Iran does not seek war, but our doctrine, based on realities and the requirements of the time, has moved from 'defense' to 'offensive initiative' and from 'crisis management' to 'order-building.'"

Abdollahi outlined five principles for sustainable security: "1. Ending the war on all fronts, especially Lebanon and Gaza; negotiation simultaneous with threat is imposition. 2. Complete removal of sanctions and the release of the Iranian nation's blocked assets. 3. Payment of compensation for the imposed wars; the Iranian nation is not a debtor, it is a creditor. 4. Recognition of Iran's sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and the replacement of the 'Hormuz mechanism' with the worn-out American security umbrella. 5. Guarantee of non-aggression again and the formation of endogenous security arrangements in West Asia."

"This five-principle plan is not a peace plan from a position of weakness; it is a doctrine of order-building from a position of power and in the light of active resistance," he said. "Iran does not seek hegemony; rather, it seeks the end of a domination that was imposed 73 years ago with the 1953 coup and today, in the shadow of the lessons of 13 Aban, has reached the end of its road."

Abdollahi warned the "satanic enemy camp" that the armed forces "consider smart combat readiness the requirement of 'maximum deterrence' and, by updating the target bank and placing the material and non-material assets of the American-Zionist enemy in the line of fire, will respond to any level and type of threat with an immediate, effective and geographically unrestricted response."