Four tankers destroyed by naval mines in Strait of Hormuz, Iran's IRGC says

Four oil tankers were destroyed after hitting naval sea mines, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) remarked on Wednesday, a day after US office-holders noted the US military had rolled out strikes on the country.

Key points

• On Tuesday night, Trump informed Fox News there were some residents who would "love" to do a "heavy hit" on Iran.
• Meanwhile Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian maintained his administration had been trying to resolve the crisis "through dialogue".
• It was triggered by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, have been stalled for months, with little sign of a breakthrough.
• Ghalibaf informed a parliamentary session on Tuesday that Iran "will not surrender" and the responsibility to prevent a war lay with the US.
• Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei this week remarked the seven-step plan had been condensed, and could be implemented in two days if the US agreed.

Notably, the IRGC remarked two of the vessels were still burning, and two further tankers had been seized, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. It remarked they were trying to travel through a prohibited southern route in the Strait of Hormuz.

For context, the BBC has not independently verified the IRGC's claim. It came as US voters punished Republicans at the midterm elections, leading Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, to say the results indicated Americans had stated no to war. He cautioned Washington not to betray its public.

In practice, the IRCG additionally noted three tankers had been destroyed after hitting mines early on Tuesday, and that they had shot down an MQ-9 drone over the Strait.

In practice, the earlier US strikes on Qeshm were in response to the IRGC firing on a US aircraft.

Ghalibaf, who is additionally Iran's parliamentary speaker, posted on X, external that the midterm results demonstrated that whether it was "conscience or the cost of living, Americans said no to war, and we endorse this message".

"If the US govt betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our 'no' comes with a nightmare."

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday acknowledged the poor results for Republican congress members was partly due to the war on Iran and the consequent rose gas costs, but that he didn't regret launching it. He informed the BBC's partner CBS News that the conflict would end "when I say it ends".

In an interview with the Financial Times ahead of the midterm elections on Tuesday, Trump suggested he was happy with the state of the conflict, and that he didn't consider them to be "really in a war".

Asked regarding comments by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu that there would be another attack on Iran this week, Trump stated they were "locked and loaded if we need to go, but there may be no need for it".

"The only thing I can tell you with certainty, they will never have a nuclear weapon, " Trump remarked.

Discussions to end the conflict. It was triggered by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, have been stalled for months, with little sign of a breakthrough.

"If Washington makes another strategic mistake, it should know that this time it will face a new battlefield and will be even more desperate than it is today as it searches for a way out, " Ghalibaf remarked.

"No-one will benefit from this war" if fighting is restarted, he remarked on Tuesday.

Iran, which closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attack, has remarked it will only reopen it if the US agrees to demands contained in its peace plan. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei this week remarked the seven-step plan had been condensed, and could be implemented in two days if the US agreed.

For now, four tankers destroyed by naval mines in Strait of Hormuz, Iran' s IRGC remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.