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Iran war latest: IRGC claims two tankers and tugboat caught fire in Strait of Hormuz

Headline from The National · compiled from 7 sources

Our analysis · checked against 15 sources

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says two tankers and a tugboat burned near Hormuz; unverified

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said one tanker hit a mine and another caught fire near the Strait of Hormuz, and a tugboat burned while helping. No vessels, flags or casualties were named, and no independent source has confirmed it, a day after Iran claimed four tankers hit mines.

What the headline leaves out

  • This is the third such IRGC claim in a week: three tankers on 30 October and four on 4 November. None was independently verified.
  • The IRGC gave no cause for the second tanker's fire.
  • It came a day after US strikes on Qeshm island that Trump called a "minor attack". It also came amid Qatari-mediated talks that an Iranian official said remain far apart.
  • CENTCOM said the IRGC had "repeatedly lied" about a related drone claim.

What happens next

Feedback from Washington and Tehran on a Qatari-mediated draft deal was expected within 36 hours of a 4 November Reuters report. A senior Iranian official said the sides remain far apart and that Tehran wants sanctions relief, an end to the naval blockade and frozen funds released first. US officials told Axios the military is preparing for a possible resumption of major combat operations, and the Joint Maritime Information Center rates the strait's threat "SEVERE", saying further attacks are "highly likely". Watch for any independent confirmation, vessel names or operator statements on the 5 November claim.

Possible knock-on effects
  • Repeated mine and fire claims, even unverified, could keep war-risk insurance near its elevated levels. That may further deter tanker transits and keep Gulf exports below September levels, which matters to shipowners and oil importers. (mechanism: Insurers price perceived risk; no source links these specific claims to premiums.. Watch for: Updated war-risk premium multiples compared with the 32.0× of 7 October, and November Gulf export data.)
  • The JMIC expects further deliberate attacks. If incidents are confirmed, more navies may deploy escorts, as South Korea plans to do. That could affect shipping routes and the risk of escalation. (official assessment: JMIC SEVERE threat assessment, citing further deliberate attacks as highly likely. Watch for: JMIC/UKMTO advisories confirming or omitting the 5 November incident; South Korean deployment announcements.)

Sources: Tasnim: Two oil tankers, a tugboat catch fire (IRGC statement), dpa via Yahoo: Iran says two tankers, tugboat caught fire, Anews: Iran says two tankers and tugboat caught fire in Hormuz, Palaemon maritime security report 26 Oct–2 Nov 2026, Gulf News: Iran says four tankers hit mines; draft deal, NewsNation: CENTCOM denies IRGC drone claim, Edition.mv: Iran war since February 28, The National live blog, Al Jazeera: Trump confirms strikes; Iran says US reply unconvincing, Business Recorder (Reuters): Iran, US still far apart on deal, Global Oil Shock: Oil price week 45, Straits.live risk tracker, Global Energy Flow: Hormuz, gCaptain: JMIC threat assessment, Iran International liveblog

Written in our own words from the sources above, and checked claim by claim before it was published. The report below says only what each outlet said.

The report: what outlets said

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Thursday that two oil tankers and a tugboat had caught fire in separate incidents after attempting to use unauthorized routes through the Strait of Hormuz[1]

According to The National, the IRGC said one of the tankers struck a mine while attempting to cross an 'illegal passage' south of the strait[2]. The Guards told Fars that the tanker "suffered a fire after striking a mine and was brought to a halt"[3], Anews reports.Türkiye Today reports that a second incident involved a supertanker that caught fire while leaving the eastern part of the Strait of Hormuz.[4] Yahoo News reports that the Fars report provided no information on what caused the fire on the second tanker. The tugboat had approached to help fight the fires but then caught fire itself[5].According to Tasnim, the IRGC statement also said its navy's electronic warfare unit were able to safely land two Lucas-type drones and take control of them.[6] Anews describes LUCAS as a US-developed model short for Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System.[3]Türkiye Today reports that the IRGC has repeatedly warned that vessels ignoring Iranian navigation regulations and cooperating with the U.S. military to use unauthorized shipping routes could face similar incidents.[4] The outlet also notes that the IRGC earlier said four oil tankers had been destroyed after striking naval mines[4] in a prohibited lane south of the strait.Al Jazeera reports that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has dismissed the idea that the outcome of the US midterm elections changes anything[7].

Listen to the songGulf News — November 05, 2026

Sources

  1. [1]Arab News | Iran’s IRGC says two tankers and tugboat caught fire in Strait of Hormuz
  2. [2]Iran war latest: IRGC claims two tankers and tugboat caught fire in Strait of Hormuz | The National
  3. [3]Iran says two tankers and tugboat caught fire in Hormuz
  4. [4]IRGC says 2 oil tankers, tugboat engulfed in flames in Hormuz - Türkiye Today
  5. [5]Iran says two tankers and tugboat catch fire in Strait of Hormuz
  6. [6]Two Oil Tankers, A Tugboat Catch Fire after Passing through Hormuz Strait Illegally: IRGC - Defense news - Tasnim News Agency
  7. [7]Iran war live: IRGC says two oil tankers and tugboat caught fire in Hormuz | US-Israel war on Iran News | Al Jazeera

Every sentence here reports what a named outlet said, with a link to it. Compiled by 93 from the reporting below.

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