Representative image. Senior Chief Photographer's Mate Mitchell, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
A large share of India's crude imports passes through the Strait of Hormuz, so every claim of attacks there feeds into oil prices, India's import bill and fuel costs. Indian seafarers also work on tankers in the area; one ship with 21 Indian crew was hit on 21 October. Knowing which claims are confirmed helps readers separate real disruption from statements made in the conflict.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say two more supertankers hit naval mines near the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, 23 October 2026, in the latest of a string of Hormuz mines claims this month. The navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the two ships were carrying more than 4.5 million barrels of crude between them. No shipping body, navy or ship owner has confirmed the incident.
The next morning, Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Major General Ali Abdollahi, warned the United States against sending warships into the Persian Gulf. The US military has said this week that Iran’s mine claims are incorrect.
What the IRGC says happened near Hormuz
According to the IRGC navy statement carried by Tasnim, an Iranian news agency, the tankers were using what it called an unauthorised southern route through the strait when they struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz. It said explosions and fires disabled their engine rooms, the ships came to a stop and the crews left them.
The statement did not name the ships, their flags or owners, or say how many crew were on board or whether anyone was hurt. It gave no location beyond the southern side of the strait. Every outlet that reported the claim, including Iran International, Middle East Eye and the Turkish agency Anadolu, said it could not be independently verified.
An IRGC source quoted by Iran’s Fars agency, as reported by Middle East Eye, said traffic by what it called violating vessels had stopped and that Iran would respond more forcefully if, in its words, oil smuggling resumed.
How the US and shipping monitors have responded
The US side rejects the IRGC navy’s mine claims. A spokesperson for US Central Command (CENTCOM), the US military command for the Middle East, said on 22 October that Iran’s mine claims were incorrect, that US forces had cleared the shipping lanes of mines and that 95% of vessels were getting through, Al Jazeera reported. The Maritime Executive reported on 23 October that CENTCOM says there are no mines in the strait.
US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on 22 October that Iran was “making up fake hits, mines, and everything else” to push up oil prices before the US midterm elections on 3 November, Al Jazeera reported. Neither CENTCOM nor the White House had commented specifically on the 23 October claim in the reports reviewed.
Ships are still being hit, though not by mines on any confirmed record. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO), run by the Royal Navy, has counted 79 projectile strikes since July, 57 of them on vessels using the southern route, the Maritime Executive reported. Reuters reported on 23 October that attacks on merchant ships in the strait hit a monthly record in October. UKMTO has also told the shipping site gCaptain that many targeted ships do not report to it, so a missing report does not prove nothing happened.
Hormuz mines claims in October: a timeline
The 23 October statement is the latest of several. NewsPlainly put together the October claims and what independent bodies said about each from reports by Anadolu, Euronews, gCaptain, Iran International and Al Jazeera. None of the ships said to have hit mines has been named.
| Date | IRGC claim | Independent response |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Oct | 1 supertanker hit a mine, large fire | None reported |
| 11 to 12 Oct | 1 more tanker hit | None reported |
| 17 Oct | Supertanker over 2 million barrels on fire | JMIC on 18 Oct: no substantiation |
| 19 to 20 Oct | 2 tankers set on fire and stopped | UKMTO logged 1 incident, no damage reported |
| 21 to 22 Oct | 7 vessels hit, 3 by mines | CENTCOM: mine claims incorrect |
| 23 Oct | 2 supertankers, 4.5 million barrels | Not confirmed by anyone |
Disputed Hormuz mines claims are not new. CENTCOM also rejected IRGC mine claims in July and on 31 August, according to gCaptain.
Iran’s warning to US warships
Speaking on 24 October, Abdollahi said Iran would not at any time allow US military vessels into the Persian Gulf, the Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI) reported. Tasnim quoted him saying the US president “should only dream” of US forces entering the Gulf again, and calling US warships “rusty”.
His comments followed Trump’s remark at a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on 23 October that the US “may do another little Epic Fury”, France 24 reported, using the name of the US military campaign against Iran that began on 28 February. NewsPlainly covered that warning, and Brent crude near $115, in its report on Trump’s Epic Fury remark.
Alex R. Forster/U.S. Navy
, Public domain, Wikimedia CommonsWhy the Strait of Hormuz matters for India
Before the war, about 40% to nearly 50% of India’s crude oil imports came through the Strait of Hormuz, according to estimates by the credit rating agency CARE Ratings and the data firm Kpler. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, ended Friday’s trade at about $115 to $117 a barrel, the highest since around May, according to the Maritime Executive and Kitco. Higher Brent crude prices raise India’s import bill and put pressure on fuel prices and the rupee.
Indian sailors are also exposed. On 21 October a Kuwait-flagged tanker, the Al Dasma, with 21 Indian crew was struck by an unknown projectile in the strait; a fire was put out and all 21 were safe, Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, as reported by Marine Insight and India TV. No Indian government statement on the 23 October claim had been issued in the reports reviewed, and the crews of the two supertankers have not been identified.
Frequently asked questions
Did two tankers really hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz?
Iran's IRGC navy says so, but no navy, shipping body or ship owner has confirmed it, and the ships were not named. The US military says there are no mines in the strait.
Were Indians on board the tankers?
It is not known. The IRGC gave no crew details. On 21 October a different tanker, the Al Dasma, with 21 Indian crew was hit by a projectile; all were safe.
How much of India's oil comes through Hormuz?
Before the war, estimates by CARE Ratings and Kpler put it at about 40% to nearly 50% of India's crude imports.