Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said two tankers caught fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, November 1, as Iranian officials continued Qatar-mediated talks on a conditional plan to reopen the waterway within two days.
The IRGC said the ships had violated Iran’s rules and alleged they were using an unauthorized route. It said one ship was a supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude. The force also claimed the vessels had turned off their navigation and identification systems.
It accused them of trying to pass through the strait with U.S. support. Iran did not identify the tankers, and the account that they struck mines has not been independently confirmed. Separately, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a tanker was hit by an unidentified projectile in the strait on Sunday.
The agency did not establish whether it was one of the two vessels. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the proposed plan called for U.S. measures on the first day, followed by the restoration of navigation through the strait on the second day, if Tehran’s demands were met. Those demands include sanctions relief and changes to the U.S. military presence in the region.
Iranian and Qatari representatives held a third day of consultations on Sunday. Araghchi said no final conclusion had been reached. Washington had not confirmed that it would accept Iran’s terms.
The incident shows that diplomatic efforts are continuing while commercial shipping remains at risk in one of the world’s most strategically important oil routes.