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Two tankers explode in Hormuz as Iran claims mine strikes; Brent slips to $111 on a two-day reopening plan
Iran's Guards say two tankers, one a supertanker, exploded after hitting mines in Hormuz on 1 November, a claim not independently verified. Brent fell about 2% to around $111 as Iran said Qatar's two-day plan to reopen the strait is on the table. India sources 35–50% of crude via Hormuz.
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Iran's Revolutionary Guards say two oil tankers, one of them a supertanker, exploded after striking naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, 1 November. The claim has not been independently verified. Even so, Brent crude fell about 2% on Monday to around $111 a barrel, as traders focused on a Qatar-brokered plan that Iran says could reopen the strait within two days.
The tanker explosions
The Guards' naval wing said the two vessels were trying to pass through Hormuz by an unauthorised route, that they had switched off their navigation and identification systems, and that they had ignored repeated warnings about restricted routes. One tanker was reported engulfed in flames after a powerful blast. The tanker names and flags, and any casualties, were not given.
A separate warning from the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said that at about 1509 UTC on 1 November a merchant vessel's master relayed a Mayday call saying another vessel had been struck by an unknown projectile. Saudi Arabia and the UAE condemned the targeting of Al Mayeda, a Qatari liquefied natural gas carrier, in Gulf waters. On 30 October, a tanker about 25 nautical miles north-east of Khasab, Oman, was disabled by a fire after a small boat attached two explosive devices above the waterline, and all its crew were safe.
The two-day plan
Iranian and Qatari officials held a third straight day of talks, with Pakistan also mediating. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Qatar asked Iran to cut its original seven-day proposal to two days: on the first day the United States would carry out a package of measures, and on the second Hormuz would reopen and navigation return to normal. Iran's conditions include lifting recent sanctions, restoring the June oil waivers, reducing the US military presence in the region, and releasing frozen funds, including those held in Qatar.
Washington has not publicly responded. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the talks are continuing but said he knew of no timeframe, and President Donald Trump said they were going fine and he was in 'no great hurry'. Analysts said the fall in oil reflects a trimmed risk premium, not a change in physical supply, and Goldman Sachs raised its December Brent forecast to $105 from $90.
The Iran war began on 28 February, when Iran closed the strait. India's crude import bill in April to June was 60% higher than a year earlier even though volumes were slightly lower, and freight on the Ras Tanura to India route had risen about 411% by August. Roughly 35% to 50% of India's crude imports are linked to Hormuz shipments, about 42% of its LNG comes from Qatar, and its strategic reserves cover about 9.5 days of crude demand. Petrol and diesel were raised by about Rs 3 a litre in May, to Rs 97.77 and Rs 90.67, and no later pump price changes were found in the reports reviewed.
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