In brief
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed that four oil tankers were struck and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, likely hit by mines, according to reports surfaced on Al Jazeera. President Donald Trump, in a televised address, said the war with Iran would soon be over, adding calls for a nuclear guarantee. Saudi and Russian foreign ministers met at a G20 forum to discuss maritime security in the region.
On Friday, 30 October 2026, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that four oil tankers traveling on “unauthorised routes” in the Strait of Hormuz had been struck, caught fire and exploded, according to an Al Jazeera live‑blog feeding the story.
The IRGC’s Navy said the supertankers, each carrying about 2 million barrels of crude, hit mines late in the day while navigating a part of the waterway that Tehran has not authorised for passage. The incident, it added, underscores the need for all ships to coordinate with IRGC authorities in advance.
Saudi and Russian ministers meet amid maritime concerns
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Washington, D.C., where the two discussed recent developments in Yemen, the Straits of Hormuz and Bab al‑Mandeb, as reported by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Al Jazeera account.
In a separate report, the Oman navy rescued 25 crew members from a Panama‑flagged commercial vessel that was hit off the coast of Musandam in the same strait.
President Donald Trump addressed the nation, saying the war on Iran was “going to get wrapped up soon.” He further added that Washington needed a “guarantee there’ll never be a nuclear weapon.”
"The war on Iran is going to get wrapped up soon," President Trump said. "Washington needs a guarantee there’ll never be a nuclear weapon."
Senator Chris Murphy has said he was briefed on Trump’s plan to restart the war on Iran following the November midterms, warning the proposal would defeat the United States’ commitment to the rule of law. Murphy’s comments were reported by Al Jazeera as part of a broader assessment of the administration’s strategy.
Iranian media also reported that a Qatari delegation has returned to Tehran for talks, while an Iranian source confirmed that Iran had received a dispatch from Washington about the situation, according to the Al Jazeera live‑blog. The source noted increased regional anxiety as all parties weigh the implications of the recent tanker incidents and the geopolitical fallout.
