Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday that four oil tankers were destroyed after hitting naval sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a day after US officials said the US military had launched strikes on the country. The claim, carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, has not been independently verified.
According to the IRGC, two of the vessels were still burning and two additional tankers had been seized. The tankers were trying to travel through a prohibited southern route in the strait, the force said. The IRGC also reported that three tankers had been destroyed after hitting mines early on Tuesday and that it had shot down an MQ-9 drone over the waterway.
The latest reports came as US voters punished Republicans at the midterm elections, and as Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the results showed Americans had said no to war. The conflict began with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, and talks to end it have been stalled for months. Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attack and says it will reopen it only if the US agrees to demands in its seven-step peace plan, which foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said this week had been condensed and could be implemented in two days if the US agreed.
Ghalibaf, who is also parliamentary speaker, posted on X that the midterm results showed that whether it was 'conscience or the cost of living, Americans said no to war, and we endorse this message'. He added that if the US government betrayed its public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it would learn that Iran's 'no' came with a nightmare. He told a parliamentary session on Tuesday that Iran 'will not surrender' and that the responsibility to prevent a war lay with the US. 'If Washington makes another strategic mistake, it should know that this time it will face a new battlefield and will be even more desperate than it is today as it searches for a way out,' he said.
President Masoud Pezeshkian maintained his government had been trying to resolve the crisis 'through dialogue'. 'No-one will benefit from this war' if fighting restarts, he said on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump acknowledged the poor midterm results for Republican congress members were partly due to the war on Iran and increased gas prices, but said he did not regret launching it. He told the BBC's partner CBS News that the conflict would end 'when I say it ends'. In an interview with the Financial Times before the vote, Trump suggested he was happy with the state of the conflict and did not consider them to be 'really in a war'. Asked about Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu's comment that there would be another attack on Iran this week, Trump said they were 'locked and loaded if we need to go, but there may be no need for it'. On Tuesday night he told Fox News that some people would 'love' to do a 'heavy hit' on Iran. 'The only thing I can tell you with certainty, they will never have a nuclear weapon,' he said.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important oil shipping routes, and Iran's reports of mines, burning tankers and seizures point to escalating disruption of shipping and of the global oil prices that reshaped the US midterm campaign.
- Iran says it will not surrender and blames Washington for the risk of a wider war, while the US says it does not consider itself really in a war, leaving the two sides reading the same conflict differently and with no talks progressing.
- The strait's reopening is tied to US acceptance of Iran's condensed seven-step peace plan, so any diplomatic movement, or its absence, will determine whether shipping returns to normal.
Background
The conflict was triggered by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, and talks to end it have been stalled for months. Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attack and says it will only reopen it if the US agrees to demands contained in its peace plan. The latest US strikes on Qeshm came after the IRGC fired on a US aircraft, and the IRGC has also reported shooting down an MQ-9 drone over the strait.
Key Perspectives
IRGC: Says four tankers were destroyed by naval mines on Wednesday, two were still burning and two more were seized, after they tried to use a prohibited southern route; it also reported three tankers destroyed on Tuesday and an MQ-9 drone shot down.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf: The midterm results show Americans said no to war, Iran will not surrender, and Washington bears responsibility for preventing war.
Masoud Pezeshkian: His government has tried to resolve the crisis through dialogue, and no-one will benefit from war if fighting restarts.
Donald Trump: He does not regret launching the war, says the conflict will end when he says it ends, and that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.
What to Watch
- Whether the IRGC's account of destroyed and seized tankers is independently confirmed, and how badly shipping through the strait is affected.
- Whether Washington responds to Iran's condensed seven-step plan, which Iran says could be implemented in two days.
- Whether strikes resume this week, after Netanyahu said there would be another attack on Iran and Trump said US forces were locked and loaded if needed.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe IRGC said four oil tankers were destroyed after hitting naval sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz.BBC News: “Four oil tankers were destroyed after hitting naval sea mines, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday”
- SupportedGhalibaf said the US midterm results showed Americans had said no to war.BBC News: “leading Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, to say the results showed Americans had said no to war.”
- SupportedTrump said the conflict would end “when I say it ends”.BBC News: “He told the BBC's partner CBS News that the conflict would end "when I say it ends".”
- Partly supportedThe four-tanker claim was carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.BBC News: “The IRGC said two of the vessels were still burning, and two additional tankers had been seized, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.”
- SupportedThe IRGC said two of the vessels were still burning and two additional tankers had been seized.BBC News: “The IRGC said two of the vessels were still burning, and two additional tankers had been seized, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.”
- SupportedThe tankers were trying to travel through a prohibited southern route in the strait.BBC News: “It said they were trying to travel through a prohibited southern route in the Strait of Hormuz.”
- Partly supportedGhalibaf said: “If the US government betrayed its public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it would learn that Iran's 'no' came with a nightmare.”BBC News: “"If the US govt betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our 'no' comes with a nightmare."”
- SupportedThe IRGC reported that three tankers were destroyed after hitting mines early on Tuesday.BBC News: “The IRCG also reported three tankers had been destroyed after hitting mines early on Tuesday”
- SupportedThe IRGC reported that it had shot down an MQ-9 drone over the waterway.BBC News: “and that they had shot down an MQ-9 drone over the Strait.”
- SupportedThe conflict was triggered by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.BBC News: “Talks to end the conflict, which was triggered by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, have been stalled for months”
- SupportedIran closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attack and says it will reopen it only if the US agrees to demands in its peace plan.BBC News: “Iran, which closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attack, has said it will only reopen it if the US agrees to demands contained in its peace plan.”
- SupportedTrump said the poor midterm results for Republican congress members were partly due to the war on Iran and increased gas prices, and that he did not regret launching it.BBC News: “US President Donald Trump on Tuesday acknowledged the poor results for Republican congress members was partly due to the war on Iran and the consequent increased gas prices, but that he didn't regret launching it.”
