Four tankers destroyed by mines in Strait of Hormuz, Iran says

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday that four oil tankers were destroyed after hitting naval sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the BBC reported. The claim came a day after US officials said the American military had launched strikes on Iran, and as the waterway — one of the world's most important oil chokepoints — remains closed.

According to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the IRGC said two of the vessels were still burning and that two further tankers had been seized. The ships were said to be attempting to pass through a prohibited southern route in the strait. The BBC said it had not independently verified the claim. The IRGC also reported that three tankers were destroyed after hitting mines early on Tuesday, and that it had shot down an MQ-9 drone over the strait.

The earlier US strikes on Qeshm Island were, according to the report, a response to the IRGC firing on a US aircraft. The conflict itself was triggered by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, and talks to end it have been stalled for months.

The announcement landed as US voters punished Republicans at the midterm elections. Iran's top negotiator and parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the results showed Americans had said no to war, writing on X that whether it was "conscience or the cost of living, Americans said no to war, and we endorse this message". He warned Washington not to betray its public, and told parliament that Iran "will not surrender".

President Donald Trump acknowledged the poor Republican results were partly due to the war and higher gas prices, but said he did not regret launching it. He told the BBC's partner CBS News the conflict would end "when I say it ends", and told Fox News that "they will never have a nuclear weapon". Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government had sought to resolve the crisis "through dialogue", adding that "no-one will benefit from this war" if fighting restarts.

The immediate test is the strait itself. Iran has said it will reopen it only if the US accepts its peace plan, and foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said this week the seven-step proposal had been condensed and could be implemented within two days if Washington agreed. Whether any tankers can pass safely — and whether the US responds to the plan — will show within days which way the conflict is heading.