Iran says US unmanned surface vessel destroyed and tankers hit in Hormuz as tensions rise amid talks to end the war

[Financial News] As the possibility of resuming talks to end the war between the United States and Iran is being discussed, maritime tensions are rising, with Iran destroying a US military unmanned surface vessel in the Strait of Hormuz and using force to block tanker traffic.

According to foreign media outlets, including the Associated Press, on the 30th (local time), Iran’s navy claimed in an official statement that it had struck and destroyed one “enemy unmanned surface vessel (a US military unmanned vessel)” operating in waters east of the Strait of Hormuz.
The naval forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also issued a separate statement, saying that two tankers had stopped operating after catching fire in the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC said, “The tankers tried to leave via an unauthorized route with their navigation and positioning devices switched off, backed by the ‘terrorist’ US military,” and “ignored repeated radio warnings and entered restricted and dangerous waters, where they hit mines,” blaming the United States and the vessels for the incident.
The Iranian military had also claimed the previous day that at least 3–4 tankers, including a supertanker, were stopped after hitting mines in areas including south of the strait. The US military’s Central Command had earlier said that mine clearance in the strait was complete and safe passage was possible, but Iran has not halted its military actions, and the two sides’ struggle for maritime control appears to be intensifying.

Apart from this show of force, diplomatic efforts are accelerating behind the scenes to end the war, now in its eighth month.
According to the state-run IRNA news agency, a Qatari delegation led by a senior adviser to Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister arrived in Tehran that day and discussed bilateral relations and regional developments with senior Iranian officials. Iran was also reportedly delivered a letter on the 29th, the previous day, from US Vice President JD Vance, exploring the resumption of peace talks and ways to prevent further escalation.
In late September, during the 81st United Nations General Assembly, Iran sent the United States a “7-day plan” through mediating countries, setting out terms for ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Indirect talks through Qatar and other channels are continuing.
The current war in the Middle East was triggered on February 28, when former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei was killed in US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Since then, Iran has struck US military assets in the region and kept the strategic waterway of the Strait of Hormuz under strict control. The United States, in turn, has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and tightly restricted the country’s crude oil exports, among other ongoing confrontations.


[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter