Iran's Revolutionary Guard Says Two Tankers and a Tugboat Caught Fire in Hormuz

According to the IRGC's account, one large tanker struck a mine while attempting to cross a passage to the south of the strait, caught fire and came to a halt. A second vessel, described as a supertanker, stopped with a major fire on board as it was leaving the route in the eastern part of the strait. A tugboat that approached the second ship to help put out the blaze also caught fire, the IRGC said.

The claims matter for energy markets and Gulf exporters because Hormuz is the outlet for a large share of the region's oil and gas shipments, and any sign that commercial traffic is being hit adds to the cost and risk of moving cargoes through it. None of the details could be independently verified. The IRGC did not name the ships, their flags or their owners, and gave no information on casualties or the extent of the damage.

The statement, released by the IRGC's public relations office on Thursday morning and carried by the Tasnim news agency, said the incidents took place the previous night. It said the IRGC Navy continues to manage traffic through the strait.

The IRGC used the statement to attack the United States, accusing it of pushing vessels through mined waters and saying this raised insurance costs for American taxpayers and US allies. It said Washington would have avoided these losses, and its setback in this week's midterm elections, had it released Iran's frozen funds. Breaking the rules in the strait, the statement said, "will not result in anything other than more financial losses and greater political defeats for the US."

The force also said its naval electronic warfare unit had safely landed two "Lucas-type" drones and taken control of them. Al Jazeera, in its live coverage, described the IRGC claim as the capture of two US drones intact. Separately, Iran said it had destroyed a US drone over Qeshm Island, according to The National's live coverage of the conflict.

The incidents follow the US midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of both houses of Congress. The National reported that President Donald Trump had acknowledged the Iran war cost Republicans at the polls. In Tehran, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei dismissed the idea that the election result would change anything, saying US hostility towards Iran would persist, according to Al Jazeera.

The wider region remains tense. The National reported that an Iranian general had warned of attacks in the Red Sea if the war resumes, and that Yemen's Houthis had claimed a missile attack on Riyadh airport.

Oil prices have been falling this week as traders weigh the prospect of talks to end the war, with crude trading below $95 a barrel, according to The National. Shipowners, insurers and Gulf energy exporters will be watching for independent confirmation of the incidents, including the identity of the vessels involved, which the IRGC has not disclosed.