• A tanker has reported being hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire on board, according to ⁠⁠⁠⁠UK Maritime Trade Operations.
• Iran’s IRGC says a supertanker exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a mine in an “unauthorised” route.

US war on Iran

Pentagon adds 2 troop deaths, 98 injuries in ‘Overseas Operations’ since August

The Pentagon has added two deaths among US troops in overseas operations in September.

The Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) updated the official count on Friday to include two more “non-hostile” deaths, one belonging to the Army corps and one to the Navy.

The DCAS also updated the wounded toll to include 98 injured troops in September and October.

The Pentagon’s data system stopped updating casualties categorised under Operation Epic Fury, the US-Israel war on Iran, in July and has since been listing updates under the Overseas Operations category.

Iran’s Gharibabadi says Minab school attackers must be held accountable

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says the “aggressors” who committed the attack on Minab school on the first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran that killed 156 people, including 120 children, must be held accountable in the legal arena and in “international forums”.

“Excellent documentation of this crime has been collected and sent to Tehran, and an indictment has been issued. Some foreign countries have filed lawsuits regarding Minab’s crime,” he was quoted by the Iran’s IRIB broadcaster.

“The US regime has not yet accepted responsibility for this crime, while published reports and documents indicate US responsibility for the attack,” Gharibabadi said.

Iranian military will continue to strike vessels ‘if necessary’, senior commander says

Senior Iranian military commander and deputy army coordinator Habibollah Sayyari says Iranian forces will continue to strike vessels in the Strait of Hormuz “if necessary”, Iranian media report.

“We have dealt blows to enemy vessels, and if something happens against Iran again, we will strike at them. We are not tied, and we have facilities and capabilities that are specific and general in the world,” he said.

IRGC posts image of air missile battery with caption, ‘We are waiting’

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman Hossein Mohebi has posted an image of a missile battery on a beach targeting an aircraft carrier, with the caption, “We are waiting”.

The move comes after the US sent a third aircraft carrier strike group and an additional Marine expeditionary unit to the Middle East. The force is expected to arrive some time in November.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt left in late September to join the USS George HW Bush and USS George Washington already in the region.

Last week, Trump said there would be no new military action against Iran until after the November 3 midterm elections.

Iran’s foreign minister warns of war’s environmental impacts on the region

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the environment can “no longer be considered a silent victim of war”.

“In recent years in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, we have witnessed how military attacks in addition to human casualties and the destruction of vital infrastructure have left deep and sometimes lasting effects on the environment,” he said.

“In Gaza, the scale of the environmental disaster is so vast that the United Nations Environment Program has spoken of unprecedented environmental damage.

“In Lebanon, the use of weapons and fires caused by attacks have destroyed parts of forests and agricultural lands. Reports and documents submitted to the UN indicate that millions of square metres of land have been burned and tens of thousands of olive trees have been damaged.”

Araghchi explained that US-Israeli attacks on Iranian oil, refinery and energy facilities have also caused “serious environmental risks”.

Iran calls for climate justice over environmental damage caused by US-Israeli attacks

Shina Ansari, head of Iran’s Department of Environment, says this year’s US-Israeli attacks on fuel storage tanks and facilities in the southern Iranian city of Asaluyeh have caused massive air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

According to Iran’s IRNA news agency, Ansari was speaking at a conference in Tehran on ecocide and silent war crimes.

She was quoted as saying that the US-Israeli attacks in Asaluyeh released about 904 tons of particulate matter, 4,700 tons of volatile compounds and more than 13,000 tons of sulphur oxides while 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide entered the atmosphere.

Asaluyeh sits along Iran’s southern coast and anchors the country’s petrochemical and natural gas industries. It is the gateway to the South Pars gasfield, part of the world’s largest gasfield spanning 9,700sq km (3,745sq miles).

Ansari also noted that destroying energy infrastructure not only threatens public health but also undermines national efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment. She called for climate justice and international accountability for environmental damage caused by conflict.

IRAN-US talks

US response to Iran proposal ‘inadequate’; path to a deal ‘unclear’

The latest back and forth between Tehran and Washington has left the conditions for a possible deal “unclear”, Iran’s security chief says.

Late last month, US President Donald Trump ruled out a new Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week. Vice President JD Vance said last week that Tehran must make a “meaningful” reduction in uranium enrichment capacity to secure a deal.

“The Americans have now responded to us. In their response, they have accepted some of our conditions, while others remain unclear,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said in comments reported by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.

“We are no longer in the process of responding to the Americans,” Rezaei added, calling the response “inadequate”.

“They must clarify the issues that remain unclear to us,” he said.

Iran says US response to its seven conditions ‘inadequate’

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, says Washington has accepted some of Tehran’s seven conditions for an agreement, but its response remains insufficient.

“The US has agreed to some of Iran’s seven conditions, but we consider its response inadequate,” Rezaei said in a post on X.

“Iranian diplomacy has changed and there will be no return to the status quo ante,” he added, signaling that Tehran would not accept a return to the arrangements in place before the war.

Iran has proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming negotiations with Washington if its conditions are met, including an end to the US naval blockade and restrictions on Iranian oil sales.

Rezaei has previously said Tehran would not reopen the waterway to the US or enter negotiations until its demands were satisfied.

Nuclear issue

Iran nuclear chief says technology safe from US attacks, threats

Iran’s nuclear technology is safe from external disruption and cannot be halted by threats, pressure, or attacks, the head of the country’s atomic energy agency has said.

Mohammad Eslami, the chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said the country’s nuclear advances are a national achievement built through the round-the-clock dedication of Iranian scientists, adding that US rhetoric at the United Nations was evidence of its “helplessness”.

“Overt threats by US officials to use tactical weapons against Iran’s nuclear facilities – delivered right from the United Nations podium – and talk of destroying Iran’s ancient civilization reveal helplessness in the face of a pioneering nation that has historically been the cradle of science, knowledge, and technology,” Eslami was quoted as saying by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

US officials have repeatedly said Washington could launch targeted strikes against Iranian nuclear sites if diplomatic efforts to curtail its atomic activities fail.

“The localization of nuclear technology is the result of round-the-clock efforts and sacrifices by young Iranian researchers and scientists; an indigenous and national achievement that will never be halted by threats, pressure, or indiscriminate attacks,” Eslami said, adding that the nation will not surrender to excessive demands.

Strait of Hormuz

CENTCOM has attacked commercial vessel in Gulf of Oman

US Central Command (CENTCOM) says it has “disabled” a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

CENTCOM said in a statement on Saturday that “the ship’s crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to run the ongoing naval blockade against Iran”. The US military claims the operation was carried out “without harming the crew”.

“A U.S. military fighter jet struck the stern of Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica (also known as the “Arika Sun”) with a precision munition,” the statement said.

CENTCOM said the vessel was “attempting to transit regional waters after having previously departed an Iranian port”.

The description is supposed to be this: 'attacked to disable the commercial vessel,' as disabling is the goal and attack a means to achieve that.

CENTCOM says 135 commercial vessels ‘redirected’, 4 attacked since July

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it has redirected 135 commercial vessels and disabled four since the resumption of the US naval blockade against Iran on July 14.

CENTCOM’s statement on Saturday updated the number of redirected vessels to 135, from 133, since its latest update.

“US forces have destroyed 10 tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ multibillion-dollar shadow network over the same period,” the statement said.

The term is supposed to be 'attacked' not 'disable,' as the latter is the goal and attack a means to achieve that.

Since the beginning of the counter-blockade last April, CENTCOM never provided the names of the redirected ships, their position and exact time.

Democrat senator labels reason for US strike on commercial ship in Gulf of Oman a ‘disaster’

US Senator Chris Murphy has questioned why taxpayers are paying billions of dollars to “hit” commercial ships after the US struck a vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

The Democratic senator for Connecticut said the goal was to “gain leverage in order to convince the Iranians to let us pay them billions to return everything to the way it all was before the war”, adding, “What a disaster.”

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces “disabled” a commercial cargo vessel on Saturday “after the ship’s crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to run the ongoing naval blockade against Iran,” according to a post on X.

“A US military fighter jet struck the stern of Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica … with a precision munition, fully disabling the ship’s propulsion without harming the crew,” the statement said.

Last week, Murphy said he was denied access by the Department of Defense to a key US military base in Qatar during a visit to the Middle East, saying it was part of the Trump administration’s effort to conceal the impact of the Iran war.

UKMTO acknowledge ‘incident’ in Gulf of Oman, after US military statement

The ⁠UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) have said they received a report of an “incident” in the Gulf of Oman, after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it disabled a vessel in the waterway.

UKMTO said on Sunday they have received “a report of an incident involving a tanker and military forces in the Gulf of Oman.”

“Authorities are aware and relevant investigations remain ongoing,” UKMTO said.

CENTCOM said on Saturday it had “disabled” a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman after the vessel’s crew “ignored repeated warnings and attempted to run the ongoing naval blockade against Iran.”

India says crew of vessel involved in ‘incident’ near Ras al-Khaimah rescued

The Indian consulate in Dubai has said that all crew members of a vessel involved in “an incident” off the Emirati coast of Ras al-Khaimah have been rescued.

In a social media post on Sunday, the consulate said the crew included 22 Indian members.

“The Consulate is in touch with UAE authorities and is extending all possible assistance and support to the Indian seafarers,” the mission added.

Tanker damaged after being hit in Strait of Hormuz: UKMTO

A ⁠tanker ⁠heading outbound through the Strait of ⁠Hormuz has been struck ⁠on its port side by an unidentified projectile, ‌the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency is reporting.

It added that the ⁠strike damaged the ⁠vessel but all crew are ⁠safe and ⁠no ⁠environmental impact has been reported.

Iran security chief accuses Trump of ‘smuggling’ oil in Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s security chief claims the administration of US President Donald Trump has hired “thugs” in the coastal waters of Oman to smuggle oil.

In comments reported by the state-linked ISNA, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei claimed the smuggling operation also involves the UAE military and the commander of the US’s CENTCOM.

Trump “claims every day that the Strait of Hormuz is open, but in response I say: ‘You are smuggling, but the strait is under Iranian control and we manage it,'”Rezaei was quoted as saying.

Rezaei added the operations use a handful of “small vessels to transfer oil to larger tankers” and that Iran targets them “every night”.

IRGC says supertanker hits a sea mine on ‘unauthorised’ route

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says a supertanker hit a naval mine this afternoon in the southern Strait of Hormuz, triggering an explosion and fire.

In a statement reported by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the IRGC said the crude oil-laden ship was attempting to exit the strait after turning off its navigation systems.

The incident came after the Guard claimed another unnamed supertanker hit a naval mine on Saturday and suffered a major fire.

 

IRGC warns all ships turning off transponders in Hormuz considered ‘hostile’

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that any ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz that turns off navigation and reconnaissance systems will be identified as “hostile”.

Any such vessel “will be dealt with severely and decisively”, the IRGC said in a statement carried by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.

The warning came minutes after the IRGC said a supertanker had hit a naval mine this afternoon while attempting to exit the strait via an “unauthorised” route.

Ships that turn off their responders (specifically their Automatic Identification System, or AIS) are still highly traceable. When a vessel disables its transponder to become a "dark ship," it only disappears from public, cooperative tracking maps like MarineTraffic. Modern maritime intelligence relies on a multi-sensor sequence to find and identify these hidden vessels.

Two Indian sailors missing after vessel attacked off Oman

Two Indian sailors are missing after a commercial vessel was hit by a “drone attack” on Sunday off the coast of northern Oman.

Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the tanker Petro Dolphin – with 11 Indian seafarers on board – was attacked in the anchorage area for the port of Sohar.

“While nine of our Indian crew members have been successfully rescued and are safe, two Indian nationals currently remain missing,” he said on X.

Sonowal said search-and-rescue operations by local authorities are underway.

He also said the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Valthera, carrying 11 Indian crew, was struck on Sunday by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz. A fire was started but all Indian crew are reported to be safe.

India is one of the largest contributors of sailors for merchant shipping worldwide, with more than 320,000 active seafarers last year, according to the shipping.

Tanker involved in ‘incident’ off Oman as attacks on shipping continues

A tanker was involved ⁠in an “incident” in ⁠the vicinity of an anchorage in ‌Oman’s Sohar, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says.

The ⁠status of ⁠the crew and assessment ⁠of damage ⁠is unknown at ⁠the time, it said.

The agency advised vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity to the maritime monitoring organisation.

Strikes around the strategic Strait of Hormuz have picked up again as mediated efforts to end the US-Israel war on Iran remain deadlocked.

UKMTO says drone attacked tanker off Oman

More details about the tanker incident near the Sohar anchorage in Oman.

The UKMTO has reclassified the incident as an attack after receiving confirmation that the tanker was hit by a drone.

Local authorities are assisting with the crew’s evacuation, while the extent of the damage and any environmental impact remain unknown.

India condemns Hormuz attacks impacting its nationals

India has condemned attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz region.

“The embassy of India in Muscat is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with the Omani authorities and respective ship management companies for the rescue of missing Indians and to provide all possible assistance to the Indian crew,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The recurring attacks on commercial shipping in the region are “deeply concerning and risk further aggravating an already volatile situation”, the ministry added.

New Delhi reiterated the need for “immediate de-escalation” and a resolution to the ongoing conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

IRGC claim third tanker struck sea mine in Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says a third oil tanker has hit a sea mine and caught fire after attempting to use what Tehran considers an “unauthorised route”.

In a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB, the IRGC Navy said the shuttle tanker was carrying about 750,000 barrels of crude oil when it ignored warnings and attempted to pass through the restricted route on Sunday afternoon.

The vessel then hit a sea mine, causing an explosion and a major fire, according to the IRGC.

Oil & Oil markets

US arbitrary sanctionism

Under modern international law, the legality of unilateral sanctions is inherently tied to whether the state imposing them is responding to an initial illegal act. Because the attacking belligerent is the original violator of the prohibition on the use of force (Article 2(4) of the UN Charter), any "arbitrary sanctions" it levies cannot be legally justified.

Tehran mayor announces nationwide measures to ‘freeze’ goods prices

An Iranian official has said Tehran is implementing measures to stabilise goods prices, in an effort to counter US sanctions.

Alireza Zakani, Tehran’s mayor, said in a social media post on Saturday that his municipality has launched “the Zero-Inflation Initiative to freeze essential goods prices for six months.”

He added that the initiative will be expanded nationwide.

The US launched Operation Economic Outcast in late August, seeking to totally isolate Iran from international trade.

Iran’s gross domestic product (GDP) has contracted by 10 percent with the collapse in energy exports due to the US naval blockade. The Iranian rial has in turn sunk to record lows.

(delusional) US politics

Trump administration doesn’t expect Iran ‘engagement’ until ‘at least’ after midterms

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the Trump administration does not expect “kinetic engagement [with Iran] until at least after the midterms”.

Asked whether the Trump administration’s ultimate goal in Tehran is regime change, Bessent said on Fox News: “I don’t know how this ends. You never know how this ends – the Berlin Wall just came down one day.”

He added that the US will follow through on its plan to allow the release of 300,000 tons of Russian diesel.

“We’re going to do it with all the legal authorities we have. ⁠So, you know, ⁠anyone in Congress who says whether it’s an old bill or ⁠the current Lindsey Graham bill [that] ⁠prohibits us from doing ⁠it is wrong,” Bessent said.

“This is good for the American people, bringing these diesel prices down,” he added.

"We’re going to do it with all the legal authorities we have."

Trump's continued part in Netanyahu's resumption of the 12-day preemptive war on Iran is illegal, as it doesn't have a UN mandate. The war is namely across borders.

The blockade has no legitimacy is it is part of a policy aimed to destroy the economy of Iran as the attacked country.

Other

US senator slams ‘spiralling’ war following visit to Qatar, Saudi

US Senator Chris Murphy, a prominent critic of the US-Israeli war on Iran, is warning against further US military against the Houthis following a visit to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

“What I saw on the ground is a war that is spiralling out of control,” the Connecticut senator told CBS News.

“This administration is absolutely incompetent in war making,” he added. “We would simply escalate and make the situation even more dangerous if we then went to war not only with Iran but with the Houthis in Yemen as well.”

The senator also railed against war damage to US military bases in Bahrain and Qatar.

Members of US Congress have been denied access to the bases, Murphy said, “because there is a cover up underway to try to hide from the American public the cost of this war and the debacle that it has caused in the region”.