Tanker Ablaze Near Hormuz, Trump Confirms Strikes on Qeshm
Iran's navy says a tanker at the eastern exit of the Strait of Hormuz hit a mine, while Trump told reporters the US carried out limited strikes on Qeshm island.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which a large share of the world’s oil shipping passes, remained at the center of the Iran crisis on Saturday, November 7. Iran’s navy said an oil tanker caught fire and lost power after hitting a naval mine at the eastern exit of the waterway. A day earlier, US President Donald Trump confirmed American strikes on the Iranian island of Qeshm, and with a war still under way and negotiations running alongside it, the two events put the region back in the spotlight.
What did Iran’s navy say about the tanker?
The statement came from the public relations office of Iran’s navy. According to it, the tanker was sailing through a restricted area with its navigation systems switched off and kept going despite repeated warnings. The navy said any ship that ignores the warnings and enters the restricted waters could meet the same fate.
The vessel’s name, flag, cargo, crew and any casualties have not been released, and none of the sources the newsroom reviewed offers independent confirmation of the incident. The navy published a similar claim on Monday, November 2, about a tanker that entered a restricted and unsafe zone with its navigation turned off, again without naming the ship.
On Friday, November 6, the navy of the Revolutionary Guard also issued a statement. It claims two tankers struck mines and caught fire, one at the eastern exit and the other inside the shipping lane itself, and that both stopped after explosions. According to that statement, the ships had their navigation and identification systems off and tried to leave by restricted routes with the support of what the Guard calls the aggressor and terrorist American military. The Guard added that the strait stays closed until seven Iranian conditions are met, which it did not spell out.
What did Trump say about the Qeshm strikes?
Speaking to reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday, Trump described the strikes as limited action against Iranian air defense systems:
“They shot down, they made some little anti-aircraft device, and we destroyed it in about 15 minutes, maybe five.”
Earlier, Iranian state media reported that two missiles hit the Suza area of Qeshm. State television IRIB carried an Iranian army statement saying air defenses had shot down an American MQ-9 drone over the island. That claim has not been independently confirmed, and Iranian outlets do not agree on the aircraft type: Mehr reports elsewhere that the Revolutionary Guard downed an MQ-1. US Central Command described the situation as “relatively calm” and said it was aware of the reports, with no further comment.
Friday’s strikes were the first since the US elections of November 3, in which Trump’s Republican Party suffered a defeat that Trump blamed on the war against Iran. He also repeated several times that Washington is talking to Tehran:
“We are talking to them now. They want a deal.”
He added, “We have made a lot of progress with Iran,” without giving details. Unnamed Pentagon officials said on Wednesday that several thousand American air and naval personnel are ready to resume combat operations against Iran on Trump’s order.
What are the mediators and neighbors saying?
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari rejected claims that the talks have collapsed, writing on X: “Spreading such false claims only serves those who want to prolong the war and destabilize the region.” Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, said at a public discussion at the University of Oxford that the crisis cannot be left unresolved, adding: “Thanks also to some wise voices in Tehran, we prevented it from spiraling out of control.”
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein warned in an interview with Al Jazeera of the possibility of a new war in the region and said: “Outside players are using Iraq to carry out attacks on its neighbors.”
On Friday, Central Command also announced on X a reward of up to 20 million dollars, with the possibility of relocation, for information about Iran’s nuclear program, its facilities, equipment and personnel.
