Iran's Revolutionary Guards say two tankers hit mines near Hormuz

STRAIT OF HORMUZ — Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that two oil tankers caught fire and stopped south of the Strait of Hormuz after hitting mines, according to a statement carried by Iranian state media.

The statement came from the Revolutionary Guards' Navy. Middle East Eye, citing Reuters, reported that the statement did not say when the tankers were hit. The Guards also said Iran shot down a US drone on Monday night, according to the same report.

What the Guards said

According to the Reuters report, the tankers were "set ablaze and brought to a halt" south of the strait after striking Iranian mines. The report is based on a statement shared by state media. Reuters did not independently verify its contents in the material available.

In a post on Telegram, Al Jazeera Arabic carried a more detailed version of the Guards' claim. The channel said the force attributed the fires to mines "planted by our forces" in what the Guards called the "illegal southern corridor" of Hormuz. The Telegram post is unverified. It matches the account given in the Reuters report on the central claim.

In a separate post on Telegram, Al Arabiya said the Guards reported a fire on two oil tankers after they collided with mines in Hormuz. That post is also unverified. It repeats the same claim and adds no new detail.

What is not confirmed

The available reports rest on a single source: a statement from the Revolutionary Guards' Navy. No shipping company, port authority, maritime security firm or government outside Iran has confirmed the incident in the material reviewed.

Several basic details are missing from the reports:

• The names, flags and owners of the two tankers.
• The time and exact location of the explosions.
• Whether any crew members were hurt or killed.
• The cargo the vessels were carrying and whether any oil leaked.
• The current state of the fires and whether the ships need assistance.

The reports also give no explanation of the Guards' phrase "illegal southern corridor". They do not say which route or shipping lane it refers to, or who regards it as illegal.

The US drone claim

The Guards also said Iran downed a US drone on Monday night, according to Middle East Eye's report of the statement. The reports give no location, drone type or other detail. No US statement on the claim appears in the material reviewed. It is not known whether the drone claim is linked to the tanker incident.

Reaction

No reaction from the United States, from the tankers' owners or from shipping industry bodies appears in the sources. Nor do the reports say how the mines reached the area or whether other vessels are at risk. This report will need updating if independent confirmation or official responses emerge.

Background

The Strait of Hormuz is the waterway at the mouth of the Gulf. The sources do not discuss its wider significance or the history of the current tensions, and this report does not go beyond what they say. The Guards' claim that Iranian forces laid the mines is notable because it comes from the force itself, and its statement describes the mines as Iranian.

The reports published on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, first appeared through state media and were relayed by Reuters and Arabic-language news channels on Telegram.