World

Three more tankers damaged near Strait of Hormuz as Iran keeps up pressure after U.S. vote

Strait of Hormuz • November 5, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

Editorial illustration: large oil tankers in a narrow sea strait at dusk, one distant vessel burning with thick black smoke rising

Editorial illustration — Press Pass USA

Iran reported Thursday that three more tankers were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz, making clear that shipping through the world's most important oil chokepoint will remain in peril as long as the war in the Gulf is unresolved — now that American voters have punished President Donald Trump for waging it.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said two of the tankers struck naval mines and a third caught fire on Thursday, Reuters reported, and a tugboat also caught fire. The Guard said the vessels were trying to use routes Tehran calls unauthorized. The vessels were not named, and the claims have not been independently verified.

The new incidents came a day after the Guard said four tankers were destroyed by mines and two other vessels were seized. Britain's maritime security agency, UKMTO, said at least five vessels have reported incidents in the Gulf since Sunday, running close to the record pace of October, when it said 35 vessels were hit — the most of any month of the war. UKMTO also reported a vessel struck by two unidentified projectiles late Wednesday; CBS News placed that strike about 50 nautical miles north of Qatar.

Oil prices, which plunged Wednesday as traders bet a chastened Trump might be less likely to restart the strikes he launched alongside Israel as "Operation Epic Fury" in February, bounced back Thursday. Brent crude settled up $3.67, or 3.88 percent, at $98.29 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate closed $2.40 higher at $90.52. Brent had fallen below $100 on Wednesday to about $94, its lowest since August 31 and more than $20 below its October 23 peak of $116.

The electoral rout that cost Trump's Republicans control of Congress has prompted a stark reassessment of the war's political cost in Washington. Vice President JD Vance said in a long social media post on Wednesday that the war was to blame for his party's defeat. In a mocking reply on Thursday, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf accused Vance of letting Trump double down like a "losing gambler" and told him: "Skip the TED talk. Why not say this to your boss?"

Trump defended the decision to launch the war on Wednesday, saying it was important to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. But two sources told Reuters they believed Trump was still likely to order resumed hostilities. "He is planning to bomb Iran. Don't listen to what he's saying. He held off because of the midterms," one of the sources said. The other said Trump did not have anything to lose politically now that the midterms were over.

On Wednesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said there should not be "even the slightest inclination towards submission" to the United States, which he said would remain hostile toward Iran no matter which party was in power. Iranian officials have been meeting with Qatari mediators since last week to discuss proposals to end the hostilities, and Qatar said Tuesday that both sides were committed to mediation and were reviewing proposals. But neither side has announced any breakthrough, and a senior Iranian official said this week that the two sides remain far apart. Eurasia Group on Thursday lowered its estimate for the chance of renewed U.S. strikes on Iran to 60 percent from 65 percent.

Sources: Reuters, "Tankers hit in Hormuz as Iran keeps up pressure after US vote" (Nov. 5, 2026, full text verified); CBS News, "Iran War Updates: More ships attacked in Persian Gulf, oil prices rebound slightly after post-midterm plunge" (Nov. 5, 2026); Reuters via London South East, "Brent crude jumps, settles up over $3 after tanker attacks" (Nov. 5, 2026). The mine-strike and fire claims are attributed to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and have not been independently verified.