Satellite view of the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain). File photo — not a photo of Wednesday's incidents.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday that four oil tankers were destroyed after striking naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, in the most serious shipping incident in the strategic waterway since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February.
According to the IRGC statement, reported by Gulf News, Al Jazeera and The New Region, the four tankers attempted to cross what Tehran calls a prohibited passage south of the strait and "remain engulfed in flames" after hitting mines. The Guards said two other vessels that tried to use the same route were intercepted and halted. The claim has not been independently confirmed, and Iranian statements reported so far have not named the vessels involved.
A waterway on edge
The incident comes at a moment of sharply rising tension around the strait, through which about a fifth of the world's oil passes. Iran has imposed restrictions on vessels seeking to transit the waterway and has attacked ships it says violate those restrictions, as it seeks to assert control over the chokepoint and press the United States.
Just a day earlier, on Tuesday, the United States struck Qeshm Island in the strait, with Iranian state media reporting five explosions in rapid succession. Iran said it destroyed a US MQ-1 drone there. Separately, Iranian media reported that a US warship trying to transit the strait was hit with two missiles and withdrew near the Iranian port of Jask — a claim the US military denied in a social media statement.
Trump's "heavy hit" warning
US President Donald Trump has warned in recent days that Washington could launch a major strike on Iran involving a "heavy hit," according to the BBC, even as he told the Financial Times on election night that he had no immediate plans to order attacks. US officials told Axios that the military is finishing preparations for a possible resumption of major combat operations, including sending more assets to the region — while stressing that preparations are not an order.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, warned on Wednesday that the Middle East war would widen if the US resumes its attacks, dismissing hopes of a policy shift in Washington after midterm elections dealt a blow to Trump. Tehran's chief negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said Americans had voted "NO TO WAR" in the midterms.
Diplomacy — and falling oil prices
Behind the threats, mediation continues. Gulf News reported that Qatari mediators are working to win US and Iranian backing for a draft agreement meant to head off renewed fighting and possibly restart direct talks. Iran has demanded an end to the US naval blockade, sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds before it will reopen Hormuz.
Oil markets, for now, are betting against escalation. Brent crude fell for a fourth straight day on expectations that Republican losses in the US midterms could reduce the risk of further escalation, dropping to about $93.65 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate fell to about $86.98, according to Al Jazeera's live coverage. But traders caution that any renewed fighting in the Gulf could send prices back up just as fast as they fell.
Sources: Al Jazeera, "Iran war live," November 5, 2026; Gulf News live coverage, November 5, 2026; The New Region, "Iran's IRGC says four tankers ablaze after hitting mines in Hormuz Strait," November 4, 2026. The tanker destruction, the drone claim and the warship claim are attributed to Iranian sources and have not been independently confirmed; the US military has denied that one of its vessels was struck.