Iran claims four tankers struck mines in Hormuz as strike fears grow after U.S. midterms

Iran said four tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen's Houthis claimed missile strikes on Saudi Arabia, escalating pressure on two fronts as the U.S. reportedly weighs renewed military action against Tehran after Tuesday's midterm elections.

The flare-up is fueling concern among regional officials and analysts that fighting could resume around the Nov. 3 vote, even as Vice President JD Vance seeks to reopen talks with Iran.

The developments underscore the competing diplomatic and military tracks now shaping the conflict, which now in its ninth month.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said three tankers caught fire after striking mines along what it called an "unauthorized southern route" near the Omani coast. Iran's army said a fourth burned east of the strait.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported a small boat attaching two explosive devices to a tanker about 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman. The blasts sparked an engine-room fire that disabled the vessel, the agency said, adding that the crew was safe.

Separately, Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Thursday also challenged a U.S. Central Command statement that American forces had cleared mines from the primary transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

The vital waterway carried about one-fifth of the world's energy supplies, and has seen traffic plummet to single-digit daily passings since the war started in late February.

"Prove the claim that the Strait of Hormuz has been cleared of mines with independent evidence, not a statement," IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi said. "The reality of the Strait of Hormuz is determined in the air, on land and at sea, not on social media and in America's media war rooms."

In Yemen, Iran-backed Houthi forces said they launched six military operations across Saudi Arabia, targeting airports and oil facilities, despite a rare meeting of Saudi and Iranian senior officials in Tehran earlier this week.

The two sides had agreed to resolve regional differences through dialogue.

Saudi authorities have not confirmed the attacks but said their air defenses have intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone launched toward the holy Mecca region.

Earlier this week, Vance sent a letter via Qatari mediators to Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, proposing a framework for talks.

President Donald Trump said "no," when asked whether he directed it. He described it as Iran needing "help with medical supplies and various things," and told Vance, "if you want to do that, that's OK."

Reports have emerged that the Trump administration may resume military actions in the Middle East after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Adm. Brad Cooper, top U.S. commander in the region briefed Trump on military options for Iran in a rare in-person visit to the White House, the Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday, citing unnamed U.S. officials close to the matter.

The meeting, joined by other cabinet members, covered other topics including the continuing U.S. blockade, according to the report.