Three tankers ran into trouble in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, October 30, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and all three were later stopped in the waterway’s southern waters. The Guard said the ships were trying to use routes Tehran does not recognize, in the eastern and western parts of the strait. It gave no names, flags or cause, and said nothing about the condition of the crews.
Iranian state media relayed the Guard’s account. The tankers, it said, had turned off their navigation and positioning systems and were heading out of the strait with U.S. military backing. They kept sailing after repeated radio warnings, the Guard claimed, before running into trouble in what it called unsafe areas.
The reports landed as Qatari mediators returned to Tehran for another round of talks meant to end the war between Iran and the United States. That war began in February 2026.
Confusion over what happened
Accounts do not line up. The Euronews report that carries these claims said it was unclear whether the Guard’s tankers were new cases or the same ones Iran described a day earlier. On Thursday, October 29, the Guard said three tankers had hit naval mines along the strait’s southern route, setting off explosions and fires, and Iran’s regular military reported another tanker ablaze in the eastern strait. Agence France-Presse said Iranian officials called all four vessels illegal operators in prohibited, unsafe areas.
A separate incident came from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. Its report said a small boat pulled up to an oil tanker on Thursday evening and fixed two explosive devices to the hull above the waterline. The blasts started a fire in the engine room and briefly disabled the ship. The Financial Times named it as the Louise 1, about 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) northeast of Khasab, Oman. The fire was put out, the crew was safe, no pollution was reported, and the tanker went on to its next port. It appeared to be the first reported successful limpet-mine attack on a ship in the strait since the war started. Nobody has said who did it.
Oman’s Maritime Security Center added that its Royal Navy took 25 crew members off a Panama-flagged commercial vessel that came under attack and caught fire roughly 1.6 nautical miles off Musandam. The center did not name the ship or the attackers.
CENTCOM disputes Tehran’s version
Adm. Brad Cooper, who commands U.S. Central Command, said again that the strait’s main shipping lanes have been cleared of Iranian mines. He also said Iran’s navy has been destroyed and Revolutionary Guard forces are no longer operating there. U.S. forces, he said, remain in the region to keep major routes open and secure.
CENTCOM also rejected a Guard claim from Thursday that it had taken control of an American MQM-170 Outlaw drone in the western strait. Iranian sources said an American unmanned surface vessel was destroyed in the eastern strait on Friday. The U.S. military had neither confirmed nor denied that when the report was published.
Underneath the incidents is a dispute over routes. Iran wants ships to coordinate with its authorities and hug the northern shore. Vessels trying to avoid Iranian control have taken the southern route.
Talks and threats
CBS News, citing a source familiar with the talks, reported signs of progress and said Iran was expected to answer a revised Qatari proposal by the end of the week. Axios reported that the mediators were looking for common ground on inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities and on sanctions relief, though the two sides still disagreed on conditions for formally opening negotiations. Axios also said the United States and Israel were weighing options for extensive strikes on Iran after the November 3 U.S. midterm elections.
The Associated Press, citing two diplomats, reported that Washington had warned several regional allies about possible renewed attacks and Iranian retaliation, although Trump had not made a final decision. Speaking to a Kansas City radio station on Friday, Trump said the war would end “soon” but did not say whether through a deal or force. He repeated that the United States wants guarantees Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon.
How Tehran framed the strait earlier
Iran’s position on who controls the passage has been consistent since the summer. On June 23, Iran and Oman issued a joint statement after talks in Muscat saying any arrangement for the waterway “must fully respect their sovereignty and sovereign rights.” They agreed to set up a joint working team between their foreign ministries to work out how navigation, and the related charging service “costs,” would be managed. Iran’s Fars news agency reported that day that only a limited number of vessels could pass daily, in coordination with the Guard’s navy, with the figure changing according to conditions.
In September, during the UN General Assembly in New York, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had passed its terms for reopening the strait to the U.S. side through Qatar. They included a permanent halt to U.S. military action against Iran and its regional allies, an end to what Iran calls a maritime blockade, removal of all sanctions, return of frozen assets and compensation for losses. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said he had held “lengthy talks” through the mediator.
Sources
- US and Iran Hold Indirect UNGA Talks as Tehran Repeats Strait of Hormuz Conditions – Gorkha Military Club
- Iran, Oman affirm sovereignty over Hormuz Strait arrangements, to discuss navigation management via joint team
- Iran reports three tankers on fire in Strait of Hormuz
