TEHRAN, July 22. /TASS/. A representative of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite branch of Iran’s armed forces, Hossein Mohebi, warned shipping companies that the southern routes through the Strait of Hormuz were unsafe because the waters had been mined.

"The route south of the Strait of Hormuz is mined. Sailing through it is a path to losing your investments. Do not let the United States deceive you," he wrote on X, addressing shipping companies.

The latest escalation in the US-Iranian conflict began on July 8. For the first time since Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum, US forces carried out several waves of strikes on the Islamic Republic, purportedly in response to an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Later that day, US President Donald Trump announced the end of the truce with Iran.

In response, Tehran began striking US facilities in the Middle East located in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.