Iran said four tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and Yemen's Houthis claimed missile strikes on Saudi Arabia. The U.S. reportedly weighs renewed military action against Tehran after the midterm elections, even as Vice President JD Vance seeks to reopen talks.
Iran said four tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz, while the Houthis claimed new attacks on Saudi Arabia. Regional officials and analysts now worry that fighting could resume around the Nov. 3 vote.
Iran reports tankers burning near Hormuz
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said three tankers caught fire after striking mines along a southern route near the Omani coast that it called unauthorized. Iran's army said a fourth tanker burned east of the strait.
Separately, 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 started an engine-room fire that disabled the vessel, and the crew was safe, the agency said.
Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Guards on Thursday challenged a U.S. Central Command statement that American forces had cleared mines from the primary transit routes. The waterway carried about one-fifth of the world's energy supplies, and traffic has fallen to single-digit daily passings since the war began in late February.
Houthis claim strikes on Saudi Arabia
Iran-backed Houthi forces said they launched six military operations across Saudi Arabia, targeting airports and oil facilities. The claim came despite a rare meeting of senior Saudi and Iranian officials in Tehran earlier this week, where the two sides agreed to resolve regional differences through dialogue.
Saudi authorities have not confirmed the attacks. They said their air defenses intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone launched toward the Mecca region.
Washington weighs diplomacy and force
Vance sent a letter through Qatari mediators to Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, proposing a framework for talks. When asked whether he directed it, President Donald Trump answered that he did not.
At the same time, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials, that Adm. Brad Cooper briefed Trump on military options for Iran during a rare in-person White House visit. The meeting also covered the continuing U.S. blockade, according to the report.
Source: CNBC
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