Tehran, 18 October. An oil tanker caught fire after striking a naval mine in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, the navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on the evening of 18 October (Anadolu).
The blast hit the engine room as the vessel tried to leave the strait; according to the IRGC, the tanker had switched off its navigation and positioning systems from the start of its voyage and took a southern route that Tehran considers unauthorised. The IRGC warned that ships moving through the strait and the Gulf with their navigation and identification systems switched off would face a "firm response"; the tanker's name and information on casualties were not given (Anadolu).
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking in Baghdad at a meeting of foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, referred to the proposal sent to the United States: "If our conditions are met, the Strait will reopen on the sixth day, and negotiations will begin on the seventh" (Tehran Times). According to Antiwar.com, the Iranian plan envisages the US ending its blockade of Iranian ports, waiving some sanctions and releasing some frozen Iranian funds, with the two sides starting nuclear talks on the seventh day (Antiwar.com).
Background: Earlier the IRGC had reported that two tankers, each carrying about 2 million barrels of oil, caught fire after hitting mines in the strait, Al Jazeera and AFP reported (Yahoo News). Araghchi's remarks came as Iran stepped up attacks on shipping in the strait, Antiwar.com notes (Antiwar.com); on the morning of 19 October the US Embassy in the UAE urged Americans in the Middle East to be more vigilant because of the risk of escalation (Anadolu).
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