Iran says mines hit three tankers in Strait of Hormuz as war chokes shipping

Iran's navy and Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that fires broke out on three oil tankers that struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the latest escalation in a war with the United States that has restricted navigation through one of the world's most important trade corridors.

According to Iran's state broadcaster, the Guards' navy said two oil tankers that had switched off their radar and positioning systems while attempting to transit the strait through an "unauthorised route" exploded and caught fire after striking a naval mine in the southern part of the waterway. A separate statement from Iran's conventional navy said a third tanker, navigating east of the strait with its tracking systems off, caught fire and was forced to stop after hitting a mine.

The statements did not name the vessels or their origins, but the Guards said one of those hit in southern Hormuz was a supertanker. Separately, Iran's IRNA news agency, citing the Guards, reported that a liquefied gas carrier exploded in the eastern strait after ignoring repeated warnings and taking an unauthorised route.

A waterway contested since February

Tehran has insisted since war erupted with the United States in February that vessels obtain its authorisation to cross the strait, and has attacked ships that do not comply. The United States has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and provides military support to tankers using the waterway.

The disruption has spilled well beyond shipping. The United Nations has warned that export controls through Hormuz are driving up fertiliser prices and restricting cargoes, with UN Under-Secretary-General Jorge Moreira da Silva saying in October that parts of Asia and Africa could face a food security crisis unless Washington and Tehran agree on a UN-backed plan to move fertiliser through the strait.

Under that proposal, a UN-staffed coordination centre in Oman would register vessels and oversee their safe passage. Before the war, roughly a third of global urea shipments and nearly half of seaborne sulphur passed through the strait, according to Al Jazeera, which reported the plan could be activated within seven to 10 days if both sides agreed.

Diplomacy stalls

There has been little sign of a near-term de-escalation. A daily world news digest compiled for Nov 15 said President Donald Trump had told advisers he may hold off on new strikes against Iran barring fresh provocations, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said further US military action was not needed because Iran's economy had been weakened.

The same digest reported that a UN official said the war had put 45 million people worldwide at risk of hunger, and that Iran would be on the agenda when Trump, China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin meet in Shenzhen on Nov. 19.