Two Tankers Ablaze, Tehran Says, as Hormuz Traffic Falls 65% From Pre-Conflict Levels

Key Facts

The Iranian military said late Saturday, November 7, that two tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz area and caught fire, while the U.S. Central Command said it disabled a St. Kitts-flagged vessel after it ignored warnings and tried to leave the area following a visit to an Iranian port. Tehran did not identify the tankers’ flags or destinations, and the Associated Press report did not name the vessel Washington said it had disabled. The account of the mines and fires remains attributed to the Iranian military, as the Associated Press was unable to independently verify the strikes or fires. The two statements put shipping incidents at the center of the confrontation between Washington and Tehran, with risks to navigation in the passage persisting. The reports came as traffic through the strait stood about 65% below pre-conflict levels.

Late Saturday, Iranian media also reported hearing explosions on Qeshm Island inside the Strait of Hormuz, as well as several explosions at the port of Jask. The cause of the explosions was unclear when the Associated Press report was published, and the report did not assign responsibility to any party. These reports coincided with the Iranian military’s announcement about the two tankers and the Central Command’s statement about the St. Kitts-flagged vessel. The locations cited span the strait area and the port of Jask, while the report offered no details confirming a link between the explosions and the maritime incidents. In this context, the reported events remain attributed to the sources that reported them, with neither the fires nor the cause of the explosions independently confirmed.

Data from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, as reported by Al Jazeera, indicate that at least 11 vessels were attacked in and around the Strait of Hormuz during the week ending November 6. The agency said three of those vessels sank, in a weekly tally that preceded the Iranian military’s announcement about the two tankers late Saturday. Its report also recorded 170 outbound transits and 155 inbound transits during the week, a level about 65% below that before the conflict. The figures show attacks coinciding with a decline in ship traffic through the passage, without identifying on their own the effect of each incident on shipping routes. The Associated Press said October saw the highest number of attacks on commercial vessels in the strait since March.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations recorded 88 projectile strikes from the resumption of fighting in early July through November 7, according to Al Jazeera. The agency warned that most attacks go unreported, making the recorded figure a tally of documented incidents rather than the total number of attacks. The figures come more than eight months after the war began, as the Associated Press described it, and the agency said the conflict had shaken global markets and halted diplomatic efforts to end it. This backdrop links the disruption to shipping with the war’s broader impact on markets and efforts to reach a settlement. Statements about Saturday’s incidents provided no independent damage tally or account of their effect on vessel traffic afterward.

On the diplomatic front, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that he had held talks with 12 foreign ministers in the previous 48 hours, including officials from Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Qatar said the two sides were continuing to work toward an agreement and denied reports that they had failed to reach a settlement, according to Reuters. The agency quoted a senior Iranian official as saying Tehran had submitted a nuclear proposal to Washington through Qatar and that the United States was reviewing it. The regional contacts reflect continued communication alongside rising maritime incidents, while Reuters’ report gave no timeline for an agreement or details of its contents. U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. military had carried out new, limited strikes targeting an Iranian air defense system, describing the action as "minor."