IRGC says two tankers hit mines in Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Sunday, November 1, that two oil tankers, one of them a very large crude carrier, exploded after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC Navy said the ships were using unauthorized routes with their tracking systems switched off, according to SBS News, citing Reuters and Xinhua. The blasts came as Gulf governments condemned an attack on a Qatari LNG carrier. In Tehran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks with Qatari mediators on a two-day plan to reopen the waterway are still going on, and he said he hoped Washington had "enough sense to choose diplomacy," Al Jazeera reported.aljazeera.com+1

Mines and a Qatari carrier

The IRGC said the larger tanker was engulfed in flames after a massive explosion. Separately, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said a ship's captain in the strait reported that another vessel had been struck by an unidentified projectile. It is not yet confirmed whether the two reports describe the same incident. On Saturday, the IRGC had also said a supertanker hit a mine east of the strait and caught fire.news.sbs.co.kr+1

On Friday evening, "unidentified objects" struck the LNG carrier Al Mayeda, owned by Qatar Gas Transport Company. The company said no crew were hurt and the ship remained operational. Qatar's foreign ministry called the attack a dangerous act that threatens global energy supplies and said an investigation was under way. The GCC secretary general called the targeting of energy tankers a "dangerous escalation." Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and the Arab League also condemned it. More than 120 commercial ships have been hit in the region since the war began. October was the worst month so far, with at least 29 ships struck.spa.gov.sa+3

The two-day proposal

Under the plan, Qatari mediators persuaded Tehran to shorten the timeline for its proposal to two days. The United States would take a set of steps on the first day, and Iran would reopen the strait on the second. "We have not yet reached a definitive conclusion," Araghchi said, adding that the outcome depends on Washington's answers. Iran's conditions include lifting the sanctions reimposed after the Islamabad memorandum collapsed in July, restoring oil waivers, releasing frozen funds and reducing US forces in the region. Tehran also wants formal recognition of a shipping route set by Iran and Oman, with all other routes closed. The United States has not publicly accepted the plan.mbiz.heraldcorp.com+2

Washington's stance

Brent crude futures fell in early Asian trading as talks went into a third day. At a rally in Iowa before Tuesday's midterm elections, President Donald Trump said the war would end "very soon, one way or the other," warning that Iran would either make a deal or "we'll just end it".aljazeera.com