Iran Says Tankers Hit Mines In Hormuz; Oman Rescues 25 As The US Says The Main Lanes Are Clear

MUSCAT — Oman said on Friday that its navy had evacuated 25 crew members from a burning crude oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed that tankers which took a route Tehran calls unauthorised had struck mines and caught fire — claims the United States disputes and that have not been independently verified. The competing accounts, reported by AFP on Saturday, leave the world’s most important oil waterway in a fog: a rescue Oman confirms, attacks a British maritime agency logged, and mine strikes only Iran asserts.

Oman’s Rescue, Britain’s Logbook

Muscat’s navy “carried out an evacuation operation for 25 crew members of the merchant ship RITI, flying the Panamanian flag, after it was targeted, which led to a fire breaking out on board,” Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said in a statement. The crew were given medical care; the statement gave no further details. The ship-tracking site MarineTraffic describes the RITI as a crude oil tanker. Separately, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said a ship 40 nautical miles south of Iran’s Lavan island was struck on Friday by an unknown projectile, which caused a fire on board; the crew were reported safe and there was no reported environmental impact. In another incident logged by UKMTO, a small boat attached two explosive devices to the hull of a tanker about 25 nautical miles north-east of Khasab, Oman, on Thursday evening; the blasts started an engine-room fire that was put out, the crew were safe, and the ship resumed its voyage. Maritime reporting identified that vessel as the Louise 1.

What Iran Claims

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two oil tankers — one in the eastern part of the strait, the other in the western part — had encountered unspecified “incidents” and been brought to a halt in waters south of the strait after attempting to pass through what it calls the unauthorised route, a southern corridor closer to Oman’s shores. The Guards said the tankers had switched off their navigation and positioning systems and disregarded several radio warnings. In a later statement, the IRGC said a supertanker carrying two million barrels of oil had stopped after an explosion “after striking a naval mine while navigating an unauthorised route,” adding: “This is the third oil tanker to have exploded and caught fire today as a result of attempting to pass through an unauthorised route.” A day earlier, Iran’s armed forces said at least four tankers had stopped in the area after hitting mines. Iran has named none of the vessels, and none of the mine claims has been independently confirmed.

Washington’s Answer

The commander of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, said in a video released on Friday that US forces had “successfully cleared the strait’s internationally recognised primary transit routes of Iranian sea mines,” and that US forces remain present to keep those routes free and clear. Cooper said he had visited some of the more than 50,000 US service members in the region, and repeated Washington’s statement that it has helped Gulf countries export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude through the strait since the summer. Brent crude touched $117 a barrel in Asian trade on Friday, putting oil on track for a fourth consecutive monthly gain, according to market reporting on the claims.

A Fifth Of The World’s Oil, Contested

Tehran has restricted traffic through the strait since the Middle East war erupted on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, demanding that vessels use a designated route and coordinate passage with its armed forces. The narrow waterway normally carries about a fifth of global oil shipments, and ships have regularly come under Iranian fire there during the conflict. The United States has answered Iran’s restrictions with a counter-blockade of Iranian ports. What can be stated as fact on Saturday is narrow: Oman rescued 25 sailors from a burning tanker; UKMTO logged a projectile strike and a limpet-style attack; Iran claims mines stopped tankers on a route it forbids; and the US says the main lanes have been cleared. The mine claims themselves remain Iran’s word against Washington’s.

Sources: AFP — reporting of October 31, 2026 (Oman Maritime Security Centre; IRGC statements; UKMTO; US Central Command); Reuters and UKMTO incident reporting via regional coverage, October 29–31, 2026.