Iran has said five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after striking naval mines, making clear that shipping through the world's most important oil chokepoint remains in peril while the war in the Gulf is unresolved.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) told the Fars news agency that a large tanker struck a mine while trying to pass through a southern channel of the strait and caught fire, and that a second supertanker was halted by a large fire while leaving the eastern part of the waterway. A tugboat that approached to fight the fire also caught fire, the IRGC said.

The Iranian army later said three more tankers were hit by naval mines and caught fire east of the strait, according to the official IRNA news agency — one in the early hours of Thursday and two more around noon.

No independent confirmation

None of the Iranian claims has been independently verified, and no vessel names, flags or crew casualties have been reported. The IRGC does not typically acknowledge firing on merchant ships, but says the transit route is unsafe without Tehran's consent.

The British military's UK Maritime Trade Operations agency separately reported that a vessel was struck by two unidentified projectiles late on Wednesday off Qatar's coast, in a different incident from the reported mine strikes.

Attacks running at a record pace

At least five vessels have reported incidents since Sunday, Reuters reported, around the same rate as in October, when UKMTO said 35 vessels were hit — the most of any month of the war.

Iranian officials have been meeting Qatari mediators since last week, but neither side has announced a breakthrough.

Sources: Reuters, Tankers hit in Hormuz as Iran keeps up pressure after US vote, 5 November 2026; Al Jazeera, Iran says tankers struck in Hormuz amid fears of new US attack, 5 November 2026.