Iran's Guards claim 3 tankers hit mines in Hormuz overnight

As of 7:26 a.m. ET, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026

Update (Nov. 3, 2026, 7:26 a.m. ET): This story has been updated with a new claim by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy that three tankers hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz overnight. The claim has not been independently verified. Earlier reporting on UKMTO Warnings 191-26 and 192-26 and on Iranian claims from Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 follows below.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said Tuesday that three tankers exploded and caught fire after hitting sea mines on what it called "unauthorized" routes through the Strait of Hormuz, and that the ships were abandoned and burning off the strait's southern shores, according to a statement published by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB News.

In the statement from its public relations office, the IRGC Navy said that "from the early hours of this morning until now," three "violating" tankers on unauthorized routes had suffered explosions and severe fires, so that fishermen in the eastern part of the strait "experienced a bright night," according to a GROKsiNEWS.com translation of the Persian text. IRIB posted the statement on its Telegram channel at about 5:10 a.m. ET.

The IRGC Navy said the tankers had switched off their navigation and identification systems before using the unauthorized routes. It said Iran's rules for the strait had been announced to all ships repeatedly by radio and in IRGC Navy notices, and warned that ships ignoring them and "accompanying" the U.S. military through unauthorized routes would face "such incidents." The statement also accused the head of U.S. Central Command of using archive images online to misrepresent the situation in the strait. It did not give details.

What is not known

The statement did not name the tankers or give their flags, owners, cargo or exact locations. It did not say whether any crew members were hurt or what happened to them, and it offered no evidence that mines caused the fires. GROKsiNEWS.com could not independently verify the claim.

As of about 7:24 a.m. ET, GROKsiNEWS.com found no new UKMTO warning about the claimed incidents; the latest warnings on the agency's recent incidents page were dated Nov. 2. No statement from CENTCOM or from a shipowner had been found.

Separate from earlier claims

The IRGC's Tuesday claim is separate from Iran's earlier tanker claims, including the Nov. 2 statement by Iran's regular Army Navy about a single tanker east of the strait, described below, and earlier IRGC mine claims dating to mid-October, including one on Oct. 17. The IRGC did not link the new claim to any of those incidents or to the UKMTO warnings below.

Update (Nov. 2, 2026, 9:26 a.m. ET): This story has been updated with a separate claim by Iran's Army Navy that a tanker hit a mine and caught fire east of the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations agency reported two attacks on merchant ships on Sunday, one in the Strait of Hormuz and one in the Gulf off Saudi Arabia. Separately, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said two oil tankers had "exploded" after hitting mines in the strait, Iranian state media reported, according to Reuters.

UKMTO has not named any of the ships or said who was behind either attack it reported. It has not linked either incident to the IRGC's claim.

Tanker struck off Ras al Khafji (UKMTO Warning 192-26)

A tanker traveling southeast through the Gulf was struck by two unknown projectiles on its port side about 72 nautical miles east of Ras al Khafji, Saudi Arabia, UKMTO said in Warning 192-26, which it classified as an attack. Ras al Khafji is a Saudi coastal town near the border with Kuwait.

The incident happened at 2347 UTC Sunday (6:47 p.m. ET), according to UKMTO, which said the report came from the ship's master. "All crew are accounted for and there is no reported environmental impact at this time," the agency said.

UKMTO did not give the tanker's name, flag, owner or cargo, and did not describe any damage beyond the strike.

Vessel reported hit in Strait of Hormuz (UKMTO Warning 191-26)

Earlier Sunday, UKMTO said in Warning 191-26, also classified as an attack, that it had received a report of an incident within the Strait of Hormuz at 1509 UTC (10:09 a.m. ET).

"The Master of a merchant vessel has relayed a Mayday call from VHF Ch 16, stating that another vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile," the warning said. The report is secondhand: UKMTO's account rests on one ship's master relaying a distress call from another vessel.

The warning did not name or describe the vessel that was struck, give a more precise location, or report on casualties or damage.

In both warnings, UKMTO advised ships to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity while authorities investigate.

IRGC Navy claims two tankers hit mines

In a separate statement Sunday, the IRGC Navy said two oil tankers "exploded" after striking mines while traveling through an "unauthorized route" in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported, according to Reuters.

The IRGC did not name the tankers in the reports reviewed by GROKsiNEWS.com. The claim could not be independently verified, and GROKsiNEWS.com found no confirmation from a shipping authority or shipowner. Neither UKMTO warning mentions a mine.

Iran has imposed restrictions on vessels seeking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and has attacked ships it says violate those restrictions, as it seeks to assert control over the waterway and exert pressure on the United States, Reuters reported.

Iran's Army Navy says tanker hit mine east of Hormuz

On Monday, Iran's Army Navy, the naval force of the country's regular military, said an oil tanker had caught fire after hitting a sea mine in what it called a "prohibited and unsafe" area east of the Strait of Hormuz, state broadcaster IRIB News reported. The Army Navy is a separate force from the IRGC Navy, which made Sunday's claim about two tankers.

The tanker had switched off its navigation systems, the Army Navy's public relations office said in the statement, which IRIB published in Persian and the state news agency IRNA also carried. It warned tanker owners to "take a lesson from the fate of violating vessels" that switch off their identification systems to try to pass through prohibited areas, saying the consequences of sailing without coordination in high-risk areas are "collision with sea mines and fire." The quotes are GROKsiNEWS.com translations.

The statement did not name the tanker or give its flag, owner or exact location, say how serious the fire was or whether anyone was hurt. It did not link the incident to the IRGC's claim or to either UKMTO warning. Reuters reported the Iranian state media claim on Monday.

The claim could not be independently verified. As of 9:08 a.m. ET Monday, GROKsiNEWS.com found no UKMTO warning or advisory, CENTCOM statement or shipowner statement about the incident; UKMTO's latest warning on X was 192-26.