Source : BRICS NEWS
TEHRAN November 10, 2026 — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that it held complete control of the Strait of Hormuz, after announcing that several oil tankers using routes it had not authorised had been stopped by explosions and fire in the waterway.
IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebi said control of the strait was “100 percent” in the hands of the IRGC Navy, according to the Iranian news agency WANA. He said two vessels trying to pass through the waterway “illegally” had suffered incidents and been prevented from leaving the area, even though, he claimed, they were escorted by US F-35 fighter jets.
The IRGC said in a statement, carried by Reuters and Arab News, that “two violating oil tankers, traveling along an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz, have been brought to a halt following massive explosions and are left burning.” It later said a third tanker “exploded this afternoon after striking a naval mine.” The Guards did not name the ships or say where they came from, and the claims could not be independently verified.
Brigadier General Mohebi also said navigation equipment that had been secretly placed among rocks in the strait to guide ships along certain routes had been found and destroyed. IRGC Navy commander Ozamaiy accused the United States of misleading tanker operators. “The smuggler and humiliated U.S. military, which itself does not dare approach the Strait of Hormuz, is sending helpless oil tankers into walls of fire by falsely claiming that the Strait of Hormuz is open,” he said, according to WANA.
Separately, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran, Hasan Hasanzadeh, said the strait would not return to its pre-war status and that Iran would continue to control shipping through it, Iran International reported.
Attacks reported across the Gulf
The claims came on a day of several reported attacks on shipping in the region. ADNOC Logistics and Services, part of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, said one of its vessels “sustained damage following an attack in the UAE’s territorial waters, in the Arabian Gulf” on the afternoon of November 10, the UAE news agency WAM reported. The company did not name the vessel or say whether anyone was hurt.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also reported that a tanker had been struck by an unidentified projectile about 19 nautical miles north-east of Lima, Oman, near the strait, according to gCaptain. The master said all crew were safe. It was unclear whether either incident involved the ships named by Tehran.
The United States has rejected Iran’s claims of control before. In October, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American and partner forces controlled the strait. The US military has also said mines have been cleared from the waterway, Arab News reported.
Shipping far below normal
The Joint Maritime Information Center kept the threat level for the strait at “severe” in its November 8 advisory and warned that more deliberate attacks were highly likely, gCaptain reported. It said daily transits were in the single digits to low double digits, compared with an average of about 138 vessels a day in 2025.
The strait normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil. Iran has heavily restricted traffic through it since the war began on February 28, while the United States has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Iran says the strait will stay closed until its seven conditions are met. Earlier on Tuesday, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said no negotiations with Washington were under way, according to Anadolu Agency and Reuters.
The tip was first shared on X by BRICS News. Life News Agency confirmed the IRGC remarks through WANA, Mehr News Agency, Reuters, Arab News and Iran International.
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