Iranupdated 26m ago2 min read
MapIRGC Says Two Oil Tankers Hit Mines, Catch Fire Near Strait of Hormuz
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Two oil tankers struck mines near the Strait of Hormuz and caught fire. IRGC Navy claims responsibility; US said main shipping lanes remained cleared.
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Outlets did split on IRGC Brings Down Two More US MQM-170 Drones Over Qeshm Island, Sixth Downed →
Mines, fires, and claims
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two oil tankers struck mines and caught fire in and near the Strait of Hormuz after the tankers attempted to transit via an unauthorized route. The CBS News account tied the broader shipping pressure to markets and to Iranian authorities, saying oil prices fell sharply after the midterm elections as markets appeared to hope the results might push President Trump toward a deal to end hitting sea mines and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s IRGC statement also said the tankers “had deactivated all their navigation and identification systems,” and it claimed U.S. support for the attempt to exit via an unauthorized path. IranWire reported that the IRGC’s claim came despite earlier assertions by the United States that the main shipping lanes through the waterway had been cleared of mines, and it said the identities and flag states of the vessels were not disclosed and details were not independently verified.
Putin meeting and diplomacy
Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin to discuss strengthening ties, including a pipeline to import Russian gas. Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told journalists after the meeting that discussions were held regarding the construction of gas pipelines from Russia to Iran, and he said the aim was to enable Iran "to address its own gas shortages".
Oman was still in talks with Iran aimed at creating a system for the nations to jointly control traffic through the strait, and the Omani foreign ministry said the plan could "end the state of war and prevent renewed confrontations in the region." President Donald Trump spoke with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the phone Friday about diplomatic efforts to ease tensions, and the leaders discussed Qatar’s mediation efforts to form a comprehensive agreement to end the regional conflict.
Escalation, verification, and conditions
Iran’s IRGC Navy said the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and that the situation will not change until Iran’s seven conditions are fulfilled, while it warned that CENTCOM efforts to force tankers through mine-contaminated areas would bring “repeated and humiliating failures.” تسنیم reported the IRGC Navy’s Friday statement that one tanker was hit in the eastern part of the Strait of Hormuz and the other within the strait itself after attempting to navigate through prohibited routes.
NewsNation also reported that Iranian media, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Iranian air defenses destroyed a US MQ-1 drone over Qeshm Island, while it noted there was no immediate confirmation from the United States. NewsNation further described a separate incident in the Gulf, saying one seafarer was killed in an explosion believed to have been caused by a missile attack on the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker MT Velos Sapphire, and it said the ship’s manager reported the death and that an investigation would be launched after the vessel was taken to Bahrain’s Khalifa Bin Salman Port.