Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Friday (October 30) that three oil tankers encountered incidents while attempting to use routes that Tehran considers unauthorized in the eastern and western sections of the Strait of Hormuz. All vessels were then stopped in the southern waters of the waterway.
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According to Iranian state media, the Guard claimed the tankers had turned off their navigation and positioning systems and were trying to leave the strait via routes opposed by Tehran, with support from the US military.
The Guard said the vessels continued to sail despite repeated radio warnings before encountering problems in what they described as dangerous areas.
It provided no details on the identity of the tankers, their flags, the precise cause of the incidents or the condition of their crews.
The reports come as Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday to continue their efforts to broker a deal between Iran and the United States.
Uncertainty over the number of damaged tankers
In another incident whose possible connection to the Guard’s claims remains unclear, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, reported that a small boat approached an oil tanker Thursday evening and attached two explosive devices to its hull above the waterline.
The devices exploded, causing a fire in the engine room and temporarily immobilizing the ship.
The Financial Times identified the tanker as the Louise 1.
The incident occurred approximately 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) northeast of Khasab, Oman.
The UKMTO said the fire had been extinguished, all crew members were safe and no environmental pollution had been reported. The tanker then resumed its journey to its next port.
This attack appears to be the first successful use of limpet mines against a ship in the Strait of Hormuz since the US-Iran war began in February 2026.
It is not clear who is responsible or whether the attack is linked to the Guard’s latest allegations involving two oil tankers.
Separately, the Oman Maritime Security Center reported on Friday that the Royal Navy of Oman evacuated 25 crew members from a Panama-flagged commercial vessel that was attacked and caught fire about 1.6 nautical miles off the coast of Musandam.
The center said the crew members received necessary medical treatment, but did not identify the ship or those responsible for the attack.
It remains unclear whether the incident was linked to other reported attacks on oil tankers in the strait.
The Guard’s latest statements follow claims on Thursday, October 29, that three oil tankers struck naval mines along the southern route of the strait, triggering explosions and fires.
Iran’s regular military also reported Thursday that another tanker had caught fire in the eastern Strait of Hormuz.
According to Agence France-Presse, Iranian officials said the four ships were operating in prohibited and dangerous areas.
However, it remains unclear whether the two tankers mentioned in Friday’s Guard statement were additional vessels or if they were among those involved in the incidents reported Thursday.
US Central Command disputes Iranian claims
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, reiterated that key shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz had been cleared of Iranian naval mines.
He also claimed that Iran’s navy had been destroyed and that Revolutionary Guard forces were no longer operating in the waterway.
Cooper said U.S. forces remained in the region to keep key shipping routes open and secure.
CENTCOM also rejected a claim made Thursday by the Revolutionary Guard that it took control of a US MQM-170 Outlaw drone in the western Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian sources, meanwhile, reported Friday that an unmanned American surface vessel had been destroyed in the eastern Strait of Hormuz. The US military had neither confirmed nor denied this information at the time of publication.
The growing number of maritime incidents come amid an ongoing dispute between Washington and Tehran over routes used by commercial shipping on the strategic waterway.
Iran has demanded that the ships coordinate their movements with Iranian authorities and take routes closer to the northern shores of the strait. Ships seeking to escape Iranian control instead used the southern route.
Qatari mediators return to Tehran amid threats of new US strikes
Diplomatic efforts to prevent another major escalation in the U.S.-Iran war continue alongside rising military tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
CBS News, citing a source close to the negotiations, reported signs of progress and said Iran was expected to respond to a revised proposal from Qatari mediators by the end of the week.
The diplomatic initiative aims to prevent a resumption of large-scale U.S. strikes against Iran, a possibility that President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised in recent weeks.
Axios reported that Qatar-led mediators were seeking common ground on issues including inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities and sanctions relief.
However, disagreements persisted over the conditions for formally opening negotiations.
Axios also reported that the United States and Israel were considering options for large-scale military strikes against Iran after the November 3 US midterm elections.
The Associated Press reported Thursday, citing two diplomats, that Washington had warned several regional allies of the possibility of new U.S. attacks on Iran and possible Iranian retaliation, although Trump had not made a final decision.
Trump, speaking Friday on a Kansas City radio station, said the war with Iran would end “soon” but did not specify whether that would be achieved through a diplomatic agreement or military action.
The US president reiterated that Washington wanted guarantees that Iran would never acquire nuclear weapons.
His remarks come as there is still no clear indication that Tehran and Washington have reached an agreement on the terms for ending the war, while the possibility of further large-scale military strikes remains on the table.
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