Iran says five tankers hit in Strait of Hormuz as fears grow of renewed US strikes

Iranian forces say at least five tankers have been damaged in the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring that commercial shipping will remain in danger as long as the United States and Israel's war on the country continues without resolution.

Tehran has tightly restricted movement through the strategic waterway since the war began in late February. Under normal conditions, the strait carries roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told the Fars news agency on Thursday that a large oil tanker caught fire overnight after striking a mine in what it called an illegal passageway south of the strait, forcing it to stop. The IRGC said a second supertanker was halted by a massive fire while exiting the eastern strait, and that a tugboat that moved in to fight the blaze also caught fire.

Iran's army later reported that three additional tankers struck naval mines and burned. In statements carried by the official IRNA news agency, the army said a tanker it described as violating restrictions caught fire early Thursday morning in an unsafe area east of the strait, and that two more tankers hit mines and ignited around midday in the same waters.

Separately, the British military said a tanker was struck by two projectiles off Qatar's coast. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said the vessel was hit about 50 nautical miles, or roughly 93 kilometres, north of Qatar's Madinat ash-Shamal at 23:20 GMT on Wednesday. UKMTO did not name the tanker or its flag state, and no group has claimed responsibility.

The incident follows an attack last week in which the Qatari liquefied natural gas carrier Al Mayeda was hit by what officials called unidentified objects while sailing in the Gulf on October 30. Operator Qatar Gas Transport Company, known as Nakilat, said no crew were hurt, there was no environmental impact, and the ship remained safe and operational while the damage was assessed.

Tanker attacks in the Gulf continue at close to a record pace. UKMTO said in a report last month that it was struggling to accurately report the true number of incidents because most ships now decline to report them at all.

The escalation at sea comes as Qatar intensifies mediation aimed at ending the war. A spokesperson for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that both sides were reviewing proposals from mediators and that talks were continuing.

Yet unnamed Pentagon officials and military commanders told The New York Times on Wednesday that thousands of US air and naval personnel on more than a dozen ships and at bases across the Middle East and in the United States are positioned to resume major combat operations against Iran on President Donald Trump's orders.

Iranian leaders have warned of consequences if Washington or Israel presses ahead with further military action. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Wednesday there should not be even the slightest inclination towards submission to the US, which he said would remain hostile regardless of which party holds power. IRGC Ground Force commander Brigadier General Mohammad Karami said continued hostile actions by Iran's enemies would bring further Iranian victories, hasten the expulsion of foreign powers from the region and lead to the collapse of Israel.