Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Friday, October 30, that oil tankers had caught fire and been stopped in the Strait of Hormuz. It gave no names, no flags and no cause.
The Guard told Iranian state media that three tankers ran into trouble on routes Tehran does not authorize, in the eastern and western parts of the strait. It said the ships had switched off their navigation and positioning systems, kept sailing through repeated radio warnings, and were trying to leave with US military support. All were later halted in the strait’s southern waters. Nothing was said about the condition of the crews.
The claims arrived the same day Qatari mediators flew back to Tehran for another round of talks meant to end the war between Iran and the United States, which began in February 2026.
How many ships?
The count is murky. On Thursday, October 29, the Guard said three tankers had hit naval mines on the southern route, causing explosions and fires, and Iran’s regular military reported a fourth tanker ablaze in the eastern strait. Agence France-Presse quoted Iranian officials saying all four were in prohibited and unsafe areas. Whether the tankers in Friday’s statement were new or the same ships is not clear.
A separate attack may or may not be linked. The UK Maritime Trade Operations body said a small boat approached a tanker on Thursday evening and fixed two explosive devices to its hull above the waterline. They went off and started a fire in the engine room. The Financial Times named the ship as the Louise 1. It was 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 looked like the first reported successful limpet-mine attack in the strait since the war began. Nobody has said who did it.
Oman’s Maritime Security Center added that the Royal Navy of Oman pulled 25 crew members off a Panama-flagged vessel that was attacked and burned about 1.6 nautical miles off Musandam. The crew got medical care. The center did not name the ship or the attackers.
The US response
Adm. Brad Cooper, who commands US Central Command, repeated that the main shipping lanes have been cleared of Iranian mines. He said Iran’s navy had been destroyed and Guard forces were no longer operating in the waterway, and that American forces would stay to keep the major routes open.
CENTCOM also rejected the Guard’s Thursday claim 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 US military had neither confirmed nor denied that.
The routes are at the heart of the dispute. Iran wants ships to coordinate with its authorities and hug the northern shore. Vessels trying to avoid Iranian control have used the southern route.
Talks and threats
CBS News, citing a source familiar with the negotiations, reported signs of progress and said Iran was expected to answer a revised Qatari proposal by the end of the week. Axios reported the mediators were looking for common ground on inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities and sanctions relief, while disagreements remained over the conditions for formally opening negotiations.
Axios also reported that the United States and Israel were weighing options for broad strikes on Iran after the November 3 US midterm elections. The Associated Press, citing two diplomats, reported Thursday that Washington had warned several regional allies about possible renewed attacks and Iranian retaliation, though President Donald Trump had made no final decision.
Speaking Friday to a Kansas City radio station, Trump said the war would end “soon”. He did not say whether through a deal or force, and he repeated that Washington wants guarantees Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.
