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UK agency reports vessel strike in Hormuz; Iran’s Guards say tankers hit mines
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In Short: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Friday that four oil tankers, including a 'supertanker' carrying more than 2 million barrels of oil, hit mines and caught fire while traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, according to multiple reports.
The IRGC claimed the tankers were attempting to use unauthorized routes when they struck mines, leading to explosions. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported earlier that a vessel was struck by an unidentified projectile approximately 40 nautical miles south of Iran's Lavan Island.
Qatari media reported an earlier attack on a gas tanker, and the UKMTO maritime agency relayed a Mayday call from a merchant vessel stating another vessel had been struck by an unknown projectile in the strait.
The US military has been guiding ships through the waterway on a route nearer to Oman’s coast, while UKMTO reported at least five incidents including drone strikes in the previous 48 hours targeting tankers and other commercial ships around the Hormuz area.
State media said Iranian forces also downed and captured an MQM-170 US drone over Iran’s Qeshm island near the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC Navy reported that two other tankers had caught fire after allegedly striking mines in the waterway earlier in the day.
The attack on the gas tanker Al-Mayeda, which belongs to the Qatar Gas Transport Company, struck a liquefied natural gas carrier, Qatar News Agency said.
The IRGC Navy said that its forces had tracked and hit four tankers carrying out oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf, while three other vessels hit mines west of the Strait of Hormuz.
The UKMTO acknowledged it was struggling to establish the true number of attacks because the majority of vessels targeted were not reporting incidents directly to the organization.
Oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and alternative routes averaged more than 24 million barrels a day in the week ending Oct. 18, above the prewar level of 23.3 million, according to the ship-tracking firm Kpler.
In its October 16 weekly assessment, UKMTO confirmed that a commercial tanker and a container ship were struck by projectiles of unknown origin in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US has been blockading Iranian ports in response to Iran's targeting of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and wider Gulf since the Middle East war began in February.
The exact number of tankers hit by mines varies between reports, with some outlets citing four and others mentioning three.
What's confirmed
- The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said four oil tankers, including a "supertanker" carrying more than 2 million barrels of oil, hit mines and caught fire while travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, and the IRGC said the tankers suffered explosions on Friday after attempting to use unauthorised routes.
- None of the crew members onboard the vessel struck on Friday were injured and there was no environmental impact from the attack, the report said.
What's still developing
- See the score → Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordered his military chiefs to respond to any attack on Iran with an "immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response," as reports described oil tankers hitting mines and catching fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy announced on Friday that a fourth oil tanker had struck a naval mine and caught fire while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, the latest in a series of maritime incidents that have disrupted traffic through the vital energy corridor amid ongoing hostilities between Tehran and Washington.
- A still image from handout video released on September 15, 2026, said to show a damaged Panamanian-flagged oil tanker "El Gaia" following an incident in Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said the tanker was hit by sea mines as it passed through a prohibited zone south of the Strait of Hormuz, a claim the U.S. military disputed, saying the vessel was struck by an Iranian missile "last month and rendered inoperable."
- Video posted on social media showed containers floating off the coast of Oman's Musandam peninsula A Singapore-flagged container ship has sunk after being struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to Singaporean authorities.
- Operations at the Shaybah field and its processing facilities remain unaffected, but the attack rattled markets again amid concerns about potential disruption to Saudi supply just as the Kingdom has largely restored its exports via the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
- "We are waiting for American warships to approach the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz so that we can sink them," Azmaei told state television, claiming Iranian forces are "counting down" for an encounter.
- WASHINGTON, Sept 6 — The United States said it destroyed three Iranian oil tankers yesterday in response to attempted missile attacks on naval vessels, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards saying they targeted US-linked ships in response.
- “Their control over the Strait of Hormuz is effectively gone,” Vance said of Iran on Thursday.
- Iran has proposed a seven-day plan to end its war with the United States and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in New York.
- A spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also said ending hostilities in Yemen was among Tehran’s demands.
- It says vessels must obtain its permission to transit the waterway.
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