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.
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.
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