Iran reports more tankers ablaze in Hormuz as US moves to block Iran's land routes

Tankers burn near the strait

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said up to three more oil tankers caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on 8 November, after the ships switched off their tracking systems and tried to transit without Iranian permission. The Guards said the vessels had exploded since early that morning and that smoke was filling the strait. An Iranian military statement cited two tankers that struck naval mines and caught fire on 7 November, while another Iranian report gave three, and Iranian statements now account for six tankers affected in two days. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) reported a tanker on fire on Saturday off Khasab, an Omani coastal town. The Guards warned that vessels ignoring Iran's rules and cooperating with the United States would meet a similar fate.

Washington moves inland

The US Central Command (Centcom) announced on 7 November, in a statement posted on X, a working group to monitor land routes into Iran and stop the transit of advanced weapons, dual-use technology and sanctioned materials. The team has 20 civilian and military members, is based in Florida, and will work with government agencies across Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea. The countries bordering Iran are Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey and Iraq, and any such effort would touch all of them. Centcom also said the naval blockade of Iranian ports had kept Iran from exporting more than $25 billion in crude oil. Trump posted on Truth Social that the task force, which he called 'Iron Gate', was already active and that 'very little' could enter or leave Iran.

Tehran's ultimatum

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned on 8 November that Tehran would 'rain down hell' if the United States resumed attacks, presenting the warning as a two-day offer. He wrote in a post on X:

Our 2-day proposal stands: meet the requirements, including end to war on all fronts, and you will see results.

Trump told CNN in a phone interview that renewed strikes were 'highly unlikely' if talks progressed over Tehran's nuclear programme and the reopening of the strait. Asked about continued strikes, he said it 'depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement'. He also said three US aircraft carriers in the region were 'fully locked and loaded' and that 38 bridges in Iran could be knocked down within an hour. IRGC Brigadier-General Ali Belali, an adviser to the Aerospace Force commander, posted a similar warning on Telegram:

The armed forces are at the ready, and if the enemy makes a mistake, Iran's response will be devastating and severe.

The exchanges follow US midterm elections in which the Democratic Party won control of both chambers of Congress.

Strikes and a disabled ship

Trump said on 6 November that US forces had carried out new limited strikes on an Iranian air defence system, calling them 'minor' and saying the system was knocked out in about 15 minutes. Centcom did not comment on that action. On 7 November, Centcom announced that US forces had disabled a ship flying the flag of St Kitts late on Saturday after it ignored repeated warnings and tried to leave the region following a stop at an Iranian port. Centcom said the vessel had tried to breach the naval blockade. The last confirmed US strike on a cargo vessel before that action came nearly a month earlier in the Gulf of Oman. Iranian state media reported explosions on Qeshm Island and several in the port of Jask on Saturday evening, and the cause was not immediately clear.