The deck of the supertanker Algarve unloading crude oil through loading arms at the Antifer terminal in France, with chalk cliffs across the water · Hervé Cozanet, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Study · YANBU · 2026-10-25 · 4 min read · Oil shipping and energy security · World and macro

Iran claims two supertankers hit Hormuz mines as Houthis aim at Yanbu

Iran's mine claim, a US denial and Houthi fire at Yanbu leave the strait and its Red Sea bypass contested from both ends.

By the desk. Researched and written by an AI model from the sources listed at the end; nothing here restates another publication's text.

INSW International Seaways, Inc.adjacent FRO Frontline Plcadjacent

What changed since chapter nineteen

Since chapter nineteen, Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed on Friday 23 October that two supertankers carrying more than 4.5 million barrels of crude hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz. ^{[3, 5]}

On Saturday 24 October the Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles fired toward Taif and Yanbu, the Red Sea port that lets Riyadh route much of its crude around Hormuz, AFP reported. The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that the carrier USS George Washington was being rearmed in the Arabian Sea with bunker-buster bombs, Gulf News said. Iran's armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said US warships would not be allowed into the Gulf 'under any circumstances', according to Iranian state television. ^{[12, 10, 11]}

The record

The Guards said the tankers took an 'unauthorized' southern route, and that blasts and fires disabled their engine rooms before the crews abandoned them. The statement named no ship, owner or flag and gave no casualties, and its claims could not be independently verified, Rudaw reported. ^{[3, 4, 6]}

The claim follows others. The Guards said mines stopped three tankers on Tuesday 20 October, Middle East Eye reported, and that four ships caught fire on the night before Thursday 22 October, Kurdistan24 reported. A CENTCOM spokesman has said Iranian mine claims are false, the waterways have been cleared of mines and Iran uses missiles and drones, Kurdistan24 reported. ^{[9, 7, 8]}

UKMTO, the British military's maritime trade office, reported a separate tanker hit by an unknown projectile at 17:15 UTC on Thursday 22 October, about seven nautical miles northeast of Limah, Oman. The tanker continued its voyage, and the advisory named no vessel and reported no casualties, Gulf News reported. ^{[10, 11]}

Saudi Civil Defence said debris from two intercepted missiles fell in the Mecca and Medina regions on Saturday, including in Wadi Al Mughammas in Mecca, Gulf News reported. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree called that account 'a great and huge lie' and denied targeting the holy cities. ^{[10, 12]}

The State Department ordered non-emergency staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia on Wednesday 21 October, citing Houthi attacks on 'civilian airports and other critical infrastructure', spokesperson Tommy Pigott wrote. It later cut staff at the embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the UAE without an order to leave, CBS News reported. ^{[13, 14, 15, 12]}

Who it reaches

International Seaways (INSW) is adjacent: its second-quarter 10-Q said it expected its pools' voyage expenses to stay high, with extra war-risk premiums in waters bordering the Arabian Gulf or the Red Sea. Frontline (FRO) is adjacent: its second-quarter report said risk across Hormuz and the Red Sea was 'rapidly changing with little warning', weighing on fleet productivity. ^{[1, 2]}

Middle Eastern crude and condensate exports, through Hormuz and the routes via Oman, Fujairah and the Red Sea, had recovered above pre-war levels by Wednesday, according to data Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shared, Rudaw reported. Brent crude rose 3.5 percent to over $117 a barrel by late morning on Friday 23 October, the Associated Press reported. ^{[6, 12]}

Where the sources disagree

Iran says mines; CENTCOM says missiles and drones, and President Trump accused Tehran on Thursday of 'making up fake hits, mines, and everything else', Rudaw reported. None of the reports read for this study carried a confirmation of the Friday claim from an owner, a flag state or a shipping authority. ^{[6, 7, 8]}

The Houthis claimed strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid airport, an Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery, pumping stations and the East-West Pipeline, France 24 reported, citing Reuters. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm, and it was unclear whether anything was hit, France 24 said. ^{[16, 10, 12]}

Houthi media gave different counts for Saudi strikes in Yemen. AFP reported 11 killed in Sanaa on Saturday, and separately that the group blamed the kingdom for strikes that killed 17; the AP reported nine dead over two days, by the Houthis' account. Riyadh has not claimed the strikes, AFP reported. ^{[10, 12]}

What settles it next

Riyadh's airport said domestic and international flights resume on Sunday 25 October, AFP reported, while Air India keeps Riyadh and Dammam suspended until Saturday 7 November, Gulf News reported. Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian meets Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday 27 October, Tasnim reported. ^{[12, 10]}

Three US carriers and two amphibious groups will be near Iran by the end of November, a US official told Al Jazeera. Some analysts believe strikes could follow the midterm elections of Tuesday 3 November, Gulf News reported, while envoy Tom Barrack said: 'Could there be a strike this weekend? Absolutely.' ^{[17, 12, 10]}

Sources

Every stock is a company; the desk grades the company behind the stock. This article describes; it does not recommend. Adjacent means the company is not named in the event and the path by which it is reached is stated above.

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