TEHRAN, March 5. /TASS/. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy launched a missile strike on a US oil tanker on Thursday morning, the elite Iranian army unit reported.

"Early this morning, this oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf was struck by fighters from the IRGC Navy and is burning now," Iran’s public broadcaster quoted the IRGC as saying in a statement.

The Strait of Hormuz is under Iran’s control and any vessels affiliated with the United States or Israel will be banned from passing through it, the IRGC warned.