Sea Mine Threat Resurfaces in the Strait of Hormuz as Iran Claims Two Tankers Hit and Urges Washington to Accept a Deal

Sea mines have resurfaced as a threat in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran claimed on 17 October that two oil tankers caught fire after striking the explosives, raising fresh alarms over the safety of one of the world's most critical shipping lanes.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has warned that sea mines pose a serious threat to vessels navigating the strategic waterway, while Tehran continues to maintain its own unauthorized shipping corridor inside its territorial waters — a framework rejected by Washington and the IMO as inconsistent with international maritime law.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said that, under the traffic separation scheme, the information available is that the route still has mines, and that while the conflict is ongoing it is very difficult to use third parties to verify that it is clear of these hazards. In his words, the IMO cannot guarantee that a vessel intending to transit that route will not be hit by a mine.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said on Saturday that two oil tankers caught fire after striking naval mines while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, according to reports citing Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

State media also said both tankers were carrying about 2 million barrels of crude oil. IRNA reported that the vessels had switched off their positioning and radar systems and attempted to use a route through the waterway that Iran had not authorized; the second tanker was left immobilized after striking a mine.

Dominguez explained that international shipping through the narrow chokepoint has historically relied on an IMO-approved traffic separation scheme adopted in 1968. There is only one route that is approved and recognized by the IMO and appears on all the charts, he said — but it is not clear of mines right now, so it is not safe.

On Tehran's temporary route, Dominguez said the IMO has received confirmation from Iran about its establishment, but without any official confirmation or decision of the organization. Any other route, he noted, must be sent to the organization and go through its processes, with member states reviewing it — and no such submission has been received; Iran has simply communicated that the route should be used because of the conflict.

Tehran's corridor operates with tolls and safety fees administered by the IRGC — a system Washington and the IMO regard as inconsistent with international maritime law. Amid these competing claims, international transit through the narrow chokepoint remains effectively at risk.

The developments come amid stalled negotiations between Washington and Tehran over ending the conflict and restoring maritime traffic. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and a former Revolutionary Guard commander, said Tehran considered Washington's latest response 'insufficient'. He said the US had accepted some of Iran's seven conditions but other issues remained unresolved, adding that Tehran was no longer responding and that the US needed to clarify the outstanding matters.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had submitted a proposal to Washington through Qatar, which is mediating the negotiations, outlining conditions under which the Strait of Hormuz could reopen and normal maritime traffic resume within seven days. Speaking in Baghdad, he said the US had shared comments which Iran is reviewing, but that Iran's proposal remains on the table and the way to reopening the strait is obvious if there is honesty on the US side.

Meanwhile, attacks on commercial vessels around the Strait of Hormuz have surged over the past two weeks. Senior Iranian officials have also said Tehran has shifted its strategy for attacking commercial vessels during that period.

For commercial shipping operators, Dominguez warned that the continued threat of mines and attacks means the waterway has yet to return to normal operations: the strait is 'not open for business in the way that it was before the conflict started'. The IMO's role now, he said, is to prepare for the opportunity to resume operations under all its procedures — but not until the root causes are addressed, and those lie beyond the IMO.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has been approached for comment. The next steps in the Washington-Tehran talks and the security situation in the strait will now determine when this principal artery of the global energy trade can safely reopen.