TEHRAN : Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that two oil tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz with US support turned back after one of them caught fire.

"Last night, two oil tankers, encouraged by American aircraft, attempted to leave through the unsafe southern route of the Strait of Hormuz," the Guards said in a statement.

"After a major fire broke out on one of them, both vessels quickly turned back."

Iran has kept control of the Hormuz since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East on February 28.

It has since insisted that ships transiting the waterway crucial for energy trade should cross through a route designated by Iran after requesting permission and paying service fees.

On Thursday, the powerful Guards reiterated that the strait was "our territory" and "cannot be reopened as long as the excessive rhetoric and threats of American officials and their interference in maritime movements in the region continue."