Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Says Mines Hit 4 Tankers in Strait of Hormuz
Key Facts
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on October 30 that 4 oil tankers were hit by mines and caught fire while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, an account reported by The Associated Press, which could not independently verify it. The announcement comes amid rising risks to shipping in the waterway, which carries large volumes of oil and gas to global markets. The agency said one of the tankers was a supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of oil. Iranian state media reported that the tanker was hit by a sea mine while using an unauthorized route. These details could not be independently verified.
In a separate incident in the strait, Oman said it evacuated 25 crew members from a Panama-flagged tanker after it came under attack and caught fire 1.6 nautical miles off the coast of Musandam Governorate. It was unclear whether the incident was connected to the fires described by the Revolutionary Guard. Its location near the Omani coast puts shipping in the area among the incidents being monitored by authorities. The available information did not identify who attacked the tanker. It also did not include independent confirmation of Iran’s account of the four tankers.
On November 2, an unidentified projectile struck a vessel transiting the strait and left a hole in it, The Associated Press reported, citing the UK Maritime Trade Operations center. The center said all crew members were safe. The available information did not identify the projectile’s source or type. The incident came days after the Revolutionary Guard announced the tankers it said were hit by mines, but it does not establish a link between the events. The agency reported it as a separate development in shipping traffic.
The strait’s importance extends beyond the countries bordering it because of the volume of energy that passes through it. Oil flows through the waterway averaged 20.9 million barrels per day in the first half of 2025, according to an estimate by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, equivalent to about 20% of global liquids consumption and a quarter of seaborne oil trade. The International Energy Agency estimated that average shipments of crude and oil products through it reached 20 million barrels per day during 2025, or about 25% of global seaborne oil trade. These estimates reflect the importance of continued shipping through the waterway for energy suppliers and consumers. Any disruption to transit could also affect liquefied natural gas trade.
Most of the crude oil and condensate passing through the strait is bound for Asia; 89% of these flows went to Asian markets in the first half of 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration. China, India, Japan and South Korea together accounted for 74% of them over the same period. As for alternative export routes, the agency estimated that Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline and the UAE’s Abu Dhabi pipeline could together provide capacity of about 4.7 million barrels per day to bypass the strait if supplies are disrupted. The UAE plans to build an additional pipeline bypassing the strait with capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day by 2027. The International Energy Agency also said a closure of the strait could affect Qatar’s and the UAE’s liquefied natural gas exports, which together account for nearly 20% of global exports.
On the diplomatic front, Iran said on November 2 it had a two-day plan to reopen the strait and resume nuclear talks with the United States if Washington met its demands. The Associated Press reported that passage through the reopened strait would follow a route agreed by Iran and Oman. On November 3, an Iranian official tied reopening it to the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, a waiver of sanctions on Iranian oil sales, and a ceasefire that includes Lebanon. The agency said that same day that the United States carried out strikes it described as defensive against Iranian targets in the strait. It quoted a U.S. official as saying the targets included Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets.