Iran’s Revolutionary Guard reports two tankers on fire in Strait of Hormuz as talks continue

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Friday, Oct. 30, that two oil tankers had encountered incidents while attempting to navigate routes Tehran considers unauthorized in the eastern and western sections of the Strait of Hormuz. Both vessels were subsequently stopped in the waterway’s southern waters.

According to Iranian state media, the Guard claimed the tankers had switched off their navigation and positioning systems and were attempting to leave the strait through routes opposed by Tehran, with the support of the U.S. military.

The Guard said the vessels continued sailing despite repeated radio warnings before encountering trouble in what it described as unsafe areas.

It provided no details about the tankers’ identities, their flags, the precise cause of the incidents or the condition of their crews.

The reports came as Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday to continue efforts to broker an agreement between Iran and the United States.

Uncertainty over the number of tankers damaged

In a separate 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 detonated, sparking a fire in the engine room and temporarily disabling the vessel.

The Financial Times identified the tanker as the Louise 1.

The incident occurred about 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) northeast of Khasab, Oman.

UKMTO said the fire had been extinguished, all crew members were safe and no environmental pollution had been reported. The tanker subsequently resumed its voyage toward its next port.

The attack appeared to mark the first reported successful use of limpet mines against a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S.-Iran war began in February 2026.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible or whether the attack was connected to the Guard’s latest claims involving two tankers.

Separately, Oman’s Maritime Security Center reported Friday that the Royal Navy of Oman had evacuated 25 crew members from a Panama-flagged commercial vessel that came under attack and caught fire about 1.6 nautical miles off the coast of Musandam.

The center said the crew members received necessary medical care but did not identify the vessel or those responsible for the attack.

It remained unclear whether the incident was connected to other reported attacks on tankers in the strait.

The Guard’s latest statements followed claims Thursday, Oct. 29, that three tankers had struck naval mines along the strait’s southern route, 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 claimed that all four vessels had been operating in prohibited and unsafe areas.

However, it remained unclear whether the two tankers mentioned in Friday’s Guard statement were additional vessels or were among those involved in the incidents reported Thursday.

U.S. Central Command disputes Iranian claims

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz’s main shipping lanes 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 major shipping routes open and secure.

CENTCOM also rejected a claim made Thursday by the Revolutionary Guard that it had taken control of an American MQM-170 Outlaw drone in the western Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian sources, meanwhile, reported Friday that an American unmanned surface vessel had been destroyed in the eastern Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military had neither confirmed nor denied that report at the time of publication.

The growing number of maritime incidents comes amid a continuing dispute between Washington and Tehran over the routes used by commercial shipping through the strategic waterway.

Iran has demanded that vessels coordinate their movements with Iranian authorities and use routes closer to the strait’s northern shores. Ships seeking to avoid Iranian control have instead used the southern route.

Qatari mediators return to Tehran amid threats of renewed U.S. strikes

Diplomatic efforts to prevent another major escalation in the U.S.-Iran war are continuing alongside mounting military tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

CBS News, citing a source familiar with 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 is aimed at preventing a resumption of large-scale U.S. strikes against Iran, a possibility President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised in recent weeks.

Axios reported that Qatari-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 extensive military strikes against Iran after the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections.

The Associated Press reported Thursday, citing two diplomats, that Washington had warned several regional allies about the possibility of renewed U.S. attacks on Iran and potential Iranian retaliation, although Trump had not made a final decision.

Trump, speaking Friday to 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 U.S. president reiterated that Washington wanted guarantees that Iran would never acquire a nuclear weapon.

His remarks came as there was still no clear indication that Tehran and Washington had reached an agreement on the conditions for ending the war, while the possibility of renewed large-scale military strikes remained on the table.