IRGC says two tankers and tugboat caught fire in Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Thursday that two oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in separate incidents in the Strait of Hormuz after using routes it called unauthorized, a claim carried by Reuters with no independent confirmation.

Why it matters: Hormuz is the chokepoint for a large share of global oil trade, and the claim is the latest in a series by the IRGC in recent weeks, landing while oil is falling on hopes of US-Iran diplomacy, so any confirmation from shipping authorities would change the price picture quickly.

Data as of Reuters report carried by Arab News, updated November 4, 2026 at 23:47 (no timezone stated on the page), read in full via the estate browser route in this run after the direct fetch failed; the fires are the IRGC's claim alone, with no vessel named and no confirmation from UKMTO, the United States or shipping sources in the reporting read, so it is graded C and should be treated as Tehran's account until corroborated. Oil reaction from investingLive's Asia-Pacific wrap of November 5, 2026, read in full in this run, which also noted the claims could not be independently verified. Developing item.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Thursday that two oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in separate incidents in the Strait of Hormuz after attempting to use routes it called unauthorized, Reuters reported. One tanker struck a mine while crossing a passage south of the strait, a supertanker caught fire while exiting the route in the eastern part of the waterway, and a tugboat that approached it to help put out the fire also caught fire.

The report named no vessels and cited no confirmation from UKMTO, the United States or shipping sources, and oil had not reacted early on Thursday, with Brent holding around $97 a barrel on hopes of a diplomatic path with Iran, according to investingLive’s Asia-Pacific wrap, which said the claims could not be independently verified.

Update: The claim had no market support through Thursday morning. Brent was at 95.25 dollars a barrel in the site market tables, down 17.09 percent on the week, as traders kept pricing a diplomatic path on Iran rather than a wider Hormuz closure, and tanker freight fell 17.17 percent to 691.6 dollars. No confirmation of the fires had emerged from UKMTO, the United States or shipping sources in the reporting read for this update, and the claim remains the IRGC’s account alone.

IRGC says two tankers and tugboat caught fire in Hormuz

Sources