Iran says four tankers hit mines as Hormuz talks stall

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Wednesday that four oil tankers were destroyed by naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, raising tensions a day after the United States struck an Iranian island near the waterway. The tanker claim has not been independently verified.

The IRGC said two of the vessels were still burning and that its forces had seized two more tankers, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. It said the ships had taken a prohibited southern route through the strait. Al Jazeera reported that the IRGC accused the vessels of turning off navigation and identification systems.

The account could not be linked to a separate incident reported Tuesday by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. The agency said two unidentified projectiles hit a tanker’s engine room about 14 nautical miles (26 kilometers) northeast of Limah, Oman. No casualties were reported.

The BBC reported that the IRGC had also claimed three tankers were destroyed by mines early Tuesday and that it had shot down an MQ-9 drone over the strait. Separately, Al Jazeera reported an IRGC claim that it destroyed two U.S. LUCAS attack drones over Bandar Khamir. Neither account was independently confirmed.

President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that U.S. forces struck an Iranian anti-aircraft facility. Iranian media said the target was on Qeshm Island, near the strait. U.S. officials described the strike as defensive and said it followed Iranian fire at an American aircraft.

“They built an anti-aircraft facility. It took them about two months. We watched it get built. As soon as it was completed, we hit it last night,” Trump told Fox News. He called the strike a “minor attack” and said it “wasn’t war.” He also warned that the United States could take further military action if necessary.

The confrontation comes as indirect talks remain stalled over Iran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran closed after joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February. Iran says it could reopen the waterway within two days if Washington accepts its seven demands. Al Jazeera reported that those demands include lifting sanctions and ending a U.S. naval blockade.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tuesday that Washington’s reply was “not convincing.” He said the United States must fully address and act on all seven conditions: “Only in this case will the Strait of Hormuz be reopened.”

Qatar said it was facilitating a “real-time exchange of proposals” between the two countries and that both remained committed to negotiations. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government was trying to resolve the crisis “through dialogue,” warning that “No-one will benefit from this war” if fighting resumes.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker and top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Republican losses in the U.S. midterm elections showed Americans had said no to war. Trump acknowledged Tuesday that the Iran conflict and higher gas prices had contributed to poor Republican results, but said he did not regret launching the campaign. He told CBS News the conflict would end “when I say it ends.”