In brief
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on 4 November that four oil tankers were set ablaze after striking mines on a forbidden southern route through the Strait of Hormuz. A separate claim from Bastillepost reported only three vessels; both accounts confirm that the tankers were deemed “violating.” Meanwhile the IRGC said it intercepted an MQ‑9 Reaper drone and warned it was prepared for a “final blow” against the United States and Israel.
The IRGC said on Wednesday that four “violating” oil tankers trying to cross the Strait of Hormoz via a forbidden southern route detonated after hitting naval mines, sparking fires that engulfed the vessels in the waters southeast of Bandar‑e Khamir. This claim, released by the IRGC’s official outlet Sepah News, was reported by Xinhua as the most recent move in a series of attacks on ships considered linked to Israel and the United States.
In a different statement from the same day a Bastillepost article noted that only three tankers had exploded, suggesting a discrepancy in the number of vessels destroyed. Both outlets quote the IRGC as labeling the ships “violating,” but only the Xinhua source refers to the incident as occurring at 4:30 a.m. local time, whereas the Bastillepost report does not provide a time stamp.
Earlier on the day the IRGC reported that its air‑defence forces shot down an MQ‑9 Reaper drone over the Strait, the 56th such drone intercepted in recent months. The organisation added that it had also taken down two low‑cost U.S. drones earlier in the afternoon, a claim echoed by Iran News Daily and Tasnim News with identical wording.
Alongside the drone‑tracking, the IRGC warned it remained ready to deliver a “final blow” to the United States and Israel, a stance it has repeated since the February closure of the southern Strait after the U.S./Israel‑Iran skirmish. The statement, also shared by Xinhua, did not specify any new developments beyond the timestamped drone interception.
Thus the latest confirmed development is a four‑ship explosion after mine contact, with the discrepancy over the exact number of vessels noted in the Bastillepost report. The IRGC’s assertion of forcing a “final blow” underscores the heightened flare of tension following the recent interception of U.S. drones.
