Iran Reports New Attacks on Tankers in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported that on Thursday, November 5, two tankers struck sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz and that a third vessel caught fire. The day before, on Wednesday the 4th, another ship had been hit by two unidentified projectiles, according to a report from the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency.

According to an IRGC statement cited by Iranian state media and picked up by Hellenic Shipping News, on Friday, November 6, two tankers caught fire after striking mines while attempting to leave the strait via an unauthorized route, with their navigation and identification systems switched off. The IRGC added that a day earlier it had reported that five other tankers and a tugboat suffered similar incidents, episodes that no international maritime body confirmed.

The United States maintains a blockade on Iranian ports and escorts tankers through the strait, through which roughly a fifth of global oil consumption typically passes. US Central Command (CENTCOM) had noted last month that it helped export 1.5 billion barrels of oil since the Northern Hemisphere summer and recently stated that all mines had been cleared from the waterway.

Marine Insight reported that, in a new episode, two tankers caught fire on November 8 after striking mines in the strait, one to the east of the waterway and one within it, with their navigation and GPS systems switched off, according to an IRGC statement released via its Sepah News channel. The vessels were not identified and their flag was not disclosed, and the account was not verified by external sources. The same report noted that a third vessel caught fire and that CENTCOM disabled the Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged cargo vessel M/V Huda in the Gulf of Oman after its crew ignored warnings while attempting to evade the blockade.

UKMTO recorded at least five incidents involving vessels since the previous Sunday, a pace similar to that of October, when 35 hits were tallied, the highest monthly figure of the conflict. The attacks come amid diplomatic efforts mediated by Qatar and as political debate grows in Washington over the cost of the war pursued by President Donald Trump, after Vice President JD Vance pointed to the offensive as a factor in the Republicans' electoral defeat.