Pentagon says thousands of US troops are poised to strike Iran. Then reports emerge of what happened to five tankers in the Strait of Hormuz
The war continues.
The situation in the Strait of Hormuz has been escalating as Iranian forces report that five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in a series of incidents. This development comes at a volatile time, with Pentagon officials and military commanders suggesting that thousands of United States air and naval forces are now poised to resume major combat operations against Iran.
These forces are reportedly positioned on more than a dozen ships and at various bases throughout the Middle East and the United States, all waiting for orders from President Donald Trump. According to Al Jazeera, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) provided details to Fars news agency regarding the specific incidents on Thursday, November 5, 2026.
The IRGC claimed a large oil tanker attempting to navigate the passageway south of the Strait of Hormuz hit a mine and caught fire, which brought the vessel to a halt. They also noted that a supertanker was stopped by a massive fire while exiting the eastern section of the strait. A tugboat that moved in to help extinguish that blaze allegedly caught fire as well.
The Iranian army later reported three additional incidents involving naval mines
According to official IRNA news agency reports, a tanker navigating through an unsafe area east of the Strait of Hormuz caught fire after striking a mine early Thursday morning. By noon, two more tankers were reportedly hit by mines in the same vicinity. These events are unfolding as the war, which began on February 28, 2026, continues to disrupt global shipping. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical waterway, as it usually carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption.
Beyond these reports from Iranian forces, the British military noted a separate incident involving a tanker off the coast of Qatar. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency stated that a vessel was struck by two projectiles on Wednesday at 23:20 GMT. This occurred about 50 nautical miles north of Madinat ash-Shamal. The agency did not identify the vessel or its flag. There has been no claim of responsibility for this specific strike.
This follows an incident from October 30, where the liquefied natural gas carrier Al Mayeda was hit by unidentified objects while sailing in the Gulf. The Qatar Gas Transport Company reported that no crew members were injured and the vessel remained operational. It seems that attacks on tankers are currently near a record pace. The UKMTO recently indicated that it is struggling to track the true volume of these attacks, as many ships now refuse to report them.
The political climate surrounding these attacks is equally tense
Following the electoral losses for the Republican party, Trump is facing internal and external pressure regarding the conflict. Some sources claim that the President was hesitant to launch major strikes before the midterm elections but may now feel he has little to lose politically. One source told Reuters, “He is planning to bomb Iran. Don’t listen to what he’s saying. He held off because of the midterms. We asked him to hold off until the midterms.”
Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance recently suggested that the war was a primary reason for his party’s defeat at the polls. This view appears to represent a shift in perspective among some officials in the White House. However, Trump continues to defend the conflict, maintaining that it is necessary to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iranian leadership remains defiant in the face of these threats
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei stated on Wednesday that there should not be “even the slightest inclination towards submission” to the United States. He argued that the United States would remain hostile regardless of which political party holds power.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf also took a jab at the Vice President, accusing him of allowing the President to act like a “losing gambler” by continuing the strikes. Qalibaf suggested that if Vance truly believed the war was a mistake, he should convince the President to stop it rather than posting about it on social media.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are ongoing. Qatar has been mediating between the two sides, and spokespersons have indicated that both parties are reviewing new proposals. Despite this, a senior Iranian official noted that the two sides remain far apart on key issues, such as the blockade of Iranian ports, sanctions, and the future of the nuclear program. As these talks continue, the presence of thousands of troops in the region keeps the possibility of resumed combat operations at the forefront of the crisis.
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