EL7.AI
GeopoliticsMediumUpdated×2•Originally published 18 October 2026•Updated 18 October 2026•
4 min read

Iran's Revolutionary Guards say two tankers ablaze in Hormuz as Tehran stands by reopening proposal

Oil tankers at sea against a map of the Persian Gulf and a document with the Iranian emblem.

Key Facts

1Iranian media said each tanker was carrying about 2 million barrels of crude.
2Oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz totalled nearly 20 million barrels per day in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency.
3The International Energy Agency estimated alternative capacity to bypass the strait through Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates at between 3.5 and 5.5 million barrels per day.
4Araqchi said Washington's acceptance of Iran's conditions could allow the strait to reopen within 6 days.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy said two oil tankers caught fire on Saturday after striking naval mines while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran and the United States remained at odds over conditions for reopening the passage. Reuters cited Iranian media as saying each tanker was carrying about 2 million barrels of crude oil at the time of the incidents. Iran's IRNA news agency said the tankers had switched off their positioning systems and radar during the transit. It added that they had attempted to use a route through the strait that Iran had not authorised. The Iranian account of the incidents comes as Tehran stands by a proposal linking the reopening of the strait to the lifting of the U.S. blockade and sanctions on its oil exports.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi reaffirmed on Sunday that the initiative his country presented in mid-September remained on the table, Reuters reported. Araqchi said: "Our proposal is still on the table." Tehran submitted the proposal after a temporary ceasefire collapsed, before the tanker incidents it announced on Saturday. Iran's demands include lifting the U.S. blockade of its ports, alongside sanctions on its oil exports. Tehran is also demanding an end to hostilities on all regional fronts as part of its conditions for reopening the shipping passage.

Oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz totalled nearly 20 million barrels per day in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. Energy flows through the passage also include liquefied natural gas exports from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which the agency estimated accounted for about 19% of global LNG trade. In its paper updated in February, the agency estimated available capacity to reroute crude exports around the strait at between 3.5 and 5.5 million barrels per day. The alternative routes covered by the estimate are in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. That alternative capacity remains below the volume of oil exports that passed through the strait in 2025, while Qatari and Emirati gas exports also depend on safe passage through it.

The United States reimposed the naval blockade on July 14 after an understanding with Iran collapsed, according to a Reuters investigation published on October 16. The agency cited Kpler data as showing that Iranian crude exports halted in September. By contrast, an analysis by United Against Nuclear Iran showed that at least 8 gas tankers had left the Gulf of Oman carrying Iranian liquefied petroleum gas since mid-July. Jemima Shelley, a researcher at the organisation, estimated the total shipments tracked at about 4.1 million barrels. Satellite images and analysis by SynMax showed that a tanker carrying Iranian jet fuel arrived in Myanmar in September. Shipments of liquefied petroleum gas and jet fuel thus continued despite the naval blockade, while crude exports halted that month.

In the oil market, settlement prices on Friday, October 16, preceded Saturday's incidents and Araqchi's remarks on Sunday, according to the sequence of events reported by Reuters. Brent crude futures settled at $109.86 a barrel. Brent gained $3.94 in that session, an increase of 3.7%. In the same session, West Texas Intermediate crude futures closed at $101.41 a barrel. U.S. crude rose $3.44, or 3.5%, during Friday's trading, before Iran announced its account of the tankers catching fire in the strait.

On the diplomatic front, Araqchi said on Sunday that Tehran was reviewing U.S. feedback on its proposal to reopen the strait. A key disagreement centres on Washington's insistence on discussing Iran's nuclear programme from the outset of negotiations, according to Reuters. Tehran wants to begin by reopening the strait and restoring safe navigation before moving on to the nuclear issue. Araqchi said in his remarks on Sunday that Washington's acceptance of Iran's conditions could allow the strait to reopen within 6 days. He added that talks could resume the day after it reopened, linking that sequence to U.S. acceptance of his country's demands.