Symbolic imageTankers burn in Hormuz as US extends Iran blockade to land routes
Iran reports more tanker fires in the Strait of Hormuz, while the US adds a land blockade. Trump calls renewed war highly unlikely if talks progress; Rubio reports no progress.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday, 4 November, that four oil tankers hit naval mines on a route Tehran calls prohibited and that two vessels were seized. They reported two tankers and a tugboat on fire a day later, and on Sunday Iran's navy said another tanker burned after hitting a mine. None of this is independently verified.
Iron Gate targets land routes
Central Command formed the task force to stop weapons and dual-use technology reaching Iran overland and via the Caspian Sea. Trump said on Sunday it is active and that, with the naval blockade, almost nothing enters or leaves Iran. Revolutionary Guards spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi called it wordplay that cannot collapse Iran's economy.
Iraq pressed and accommodated
Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Al Jazeera the US Treasury asked Baghdad to close all but two crossings with Iran, while Iraq reached an understanding with Washington to export oil via a lane near Oman. He put Iraq's war losses at $60 billion.
Trump signals restraint, talks stall
Trump told CNN renewed war is "highly unlikely" if talks progress, but said 38 bridges are in his sights. Rubio said he had no progress to report and called Iranian demands outrageous.