The vessels were immobilized, their identities were not disclosed, and Iranian authorities said rescue teams were evacuating their crews.
The British maritime operations center separately reported a vessel fire about eight nautical miles northwest of Kumzar, Oman, but said the cause had not been verified. The incidents came as U.S.
The attacks have sharply reduced traffic through Hormuz, a waterway that carried about one-fifth of crude oil and natural-gas trade in peacetime. Iran has warned shipping companies away from routes it considers dangerous, while the United States has continued operations aimed at weakening Iran’s military capacity. Tehran and Washington had signed a Pakistani-mediated memorandum intended to end the conflict, but fighting intensified again around the strait.
Yemen’s Houthi movement announced a blockade of Saudi-linked shipping and said it had attacked two Saudi oil tankers, causing fires on both; Saudi authorities and maritime officials confirmed a tanker fire but reported no casualties.
Saudi Arabia has shifted oil exports toward its Red Sea port of Yanbu, while alternative routes through Egypt or around the Cape of Good Hope would add significant cost and, in some cases, one to two weeks to voyages. Saudi Arabia said threats against vessels would be dealt with firmly, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on the Houthis to stop the attacks.