https://sagire.online/topic/strait-of-hormuz/ Rolling analysis and coverage of geopolitics, energy, security and supply chains. en Thu, 05 Nov 2026 02:48:00 -0300 https://sagire.online/wire/cc54c22d/https://sagire.online/wire/cc54c22d/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:21:00 -0300The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that two oil tankers and a tugboat had caught fire in separate incidents after attempting to use unauthorized routes through the Strait of Hormuz, in a Reuters text republished by Internazionale. According to the IRGC, one tanker struck a mine while attempting to cross a passage south of the strait, while a supertanker caught fire while exiting the route in the eastern part of the waterway. A tugboat that approached the second vessel to help extinguish the fire also caught fire.IranStrait of HormuzThe GulfOilConflict https://sagire.online/wire/79253343/https://sagire.online/wire/79253343/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 20:22:00 -0300Sub-Saharan Africa's liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports are set to grow nearly 175% to 98 billion cubic meters in 2034 from 35.7 billion in 2024, according to Fitch, as buyers flee the Strait of Hormuz. The African Energy Chamber projects about US$ 40 billion a year in exploration and production investment through 2030, lifting the continent's hydrocarbon output to 12.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. In Mozambique, TotalEnergies' US$ 20 billion LNG project, with capacity of 13.1 million tonnes per year, resumed construction in January after the end of a four-and-a-half-year force majeure and is about 45% complete.MozambiqueAfricaEnergyStrait of HormuzThe Gulf https://sagire.online/wire/17dc9df1/https://sagire.online/wire/17dc9df1/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 20:22:00 -0300The Cheonghae unit, currently in the Gulf of Aden, will have its area of operation extended northeast to waters south of Oman, in the Arabian Sea, officials told The Korea Herald, roughly doubling its radius to about 1,930 kilometers. The expansion adds 75 troops to the unit, bringing its strength to 395. A Defense Ministry official said operations will stay limited to open waters south of Oman and that the P-8A maritime patrol aircraft will be barred from watching Iranian territory or waters or the interior of the Strait of Hormuz. The government plans to send the revised mandate motion to the National Assembly after Cabinet endorsement next week, and South Korean law requires parliamentary consent to expand overseas missions.South KoreaStrait of HormuzThe GulfDefense https://sagire.online/wire/602612f5/https://sagire.online/wire/602612f5/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 18:24:00 -0300Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said that three oil tankers struck naval mines and caught fire while navigating “unauthorized” routes through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Tasnim news agency, which cited a statement from the force’s public relations office. According to the statement, the explosions occurred in the early hours of Tuesday and the ships, abandoned near the southern shores of the strait, remained engulfed in flames that illuminated the eastern section through the night. The Guard warned that ships disregarding the rules and cooperating with the US military to cross unauthorized routes could face similar incidents. On Monday, Iran’s Navy had already announced that an oil tanker had struck a mine and caught fire in an area described as prohibited and unsafe east of the strait.IranStrait of HormuzThe GulfOil https://sagire.online/wire/ced3a67a/https://sagire.online/wire/ced3a67a/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 18:23:00 -0300QatarEnergy signed a 20-year agreement to buy 3 million metric tons per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Woodside Energy’s facilities in Louisiana and, a week earlier, struck deals with Cheniere for up to 4 million tons per year through 2054, according to Reuters, in a text republished by gCaptain. Deliveries under the contracts begin in 2030 and 2031 and will make Qatar the largest buyer of US LNG. Unlike its neighbors, the small Gulf state has no viable route for exporting LNG other than the Strait of Hormuz. QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi told Reuters he expects to sign additional supply agreements with US and other producers this year. The company declared force majeure on LNG supplies in March, after the war with Iran led to the blockade of Hormuz and attacks on its Ras Laffan facilities; the measure runs through December.QatarEnergyThe GulfStrait of Hormuz https://sagire.online/wire/3a1361a3/https://sagire.online/wire/3a1361a3/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:23:00 -0300Major General Esmaeil Ghaani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, said that resistance forces have formed a united front against the aggressors, namely the United States and the Zionist regime in the region. “Otherwise, you will end up fighting a war with weapons in the Strait of Hormuz while facing the opening of the Bab el-Mandeb by the Resistance,” he said. According to Ghaani, US President Donald Trump gambled on war with Iran after being misled by Netanyahu, and the outcome was the loss of America’s 250-year reputation and its defeat in the Strait of Hormuz.IranStrait of HormuzThe Gulf https://sagire.online/wire/f5ef2431/https://sagire.online/wire/f5ef2431/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 15:23:00 -0300The closure of the Strait of Hormuz cost Europe 127 billion euros in higher fossil fuel prices, Ursula von der Leyen said at an event in Brussels. In the same speech, she argued that imported fossil fuels had cost Europe 127 billion euros more “without bringing one extra molecule of energy”. About a fifth of the oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) transported by sea worldwide passed through Hormuz before the US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February, which led Tehran to effectively shut the strategic waterway.European UnionStrait of HormuzEnergy https://sagire.online/wire/1029f46c/https://sagire.online/wire/1029f46c/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 15:23:00 -0300Bloomberg reported plans by Abu Dhabi's state oil company, Adnoc, for a third pipeline from the western coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Fujairah that could supply Asian customers and bypass Hormuz. The existing pipeline, Habshan–Fujairah, has run since 2012 with a capacity of 1.5 million barrels a day, expandable to 1.8 million, and a second, the West-East pipeline, is expected to start operating in 2027. Adnoc told Bloomberg the report was not accurate and “purely speculative”.United Arab EmiratesStrait of HormuzEnergyOil https://sagire.online/wire/d9e7afc1/https://sagire.online/wire/d9e7afc1/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 09:21:00 -0300Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said four oil tankers caught fire after hitting naval sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the IRGC said two of the vessels were still burning and that two additional tankers were intercepted trying to use a prohibited southern route in the strait. BBC Verify investigated the claims and has not found any evidence that four tankers were destroyed. In a separate incident, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center said a tanker was struck by two unknown projectiles about 14 nautical miles (26 km) northeast of Limah, in Oman’s Musandam peninsula, on Tuesday evening, with no casualties reported. The IRGC also said it had shot down another US MQ-9 drone over the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas shipments usually pass, has been effectively closed since the start of the Iran war, because of Iranian attacks on commercial vessels and the US naval blockade.IranStrait of HormuzOilThe GulfDrones https://sagire.online/wire/7fbc822f/https://sagire.online/wire/7fbc822f/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 03:20:00 -0300Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says that four oil tankers were destroyed after hitting naval sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, with two still burning and two additional vessels seized for trying to use a prohibited southern route. Trump confirmed that the US struck Iran on Tuesday targeting an anti-aircraft facility, an attack US officials described as limited and defensive, in response to IRGC fire on a US aircraft; the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported projectiles in a tanker’s engine room off Limah, Oman, with no casualties, and the IRGC account could not be independently verified or linked to that incident.IranUnited StatesStrait of HormuzThe GulfOil https://sagire.online/wire/bf804f99/https://sagire.online/wire/bf804f99/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 02:23:00 -0300Brent crude returned to trade at US$ 103.60 per barrel and WTI at US$ 95.98, according to OilPrice, after benchmarks fell to a four-week low on reports that Iran may be open to discussing previously non-negotiable issues. According to Vortexa data, combined exports of crude oil, condensates and fuels through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 17.1 million barrels per day in October, down from 18.9 million barrels per day in September. The consultancy Rystad Energy said it did not expect oil flows out of the Persian Gulf to return to normal any time soon, even if the United States and Iran reach an agreement to end the war.IranUnited StatesStrait of HormuzOil https://sagire.online/wire/407d2c5e/https://sagire.online/wire/407d2c5e/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:21:00 -0300The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said that the US response to Iran’s seven conditions was not convincing and that the Strait of Hormuz will only reopen if Washington fully meets the demands. The indirect talks center on an Iranian proposal to reopen the waterway over two days if the United States meets the seven demands, including the lifting of sanctions and an end to the US naval blockade. Four oil tankers were destroyed after striking naval mines south of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who also said two other vessels were halted. The statement did not identify the vessels, their owners, flags, cargoes or the exact location, and there was no immediate independent confirmation of the attacks. The Guards also said they shot down a US MQ-9 drone over the strait, the 56th by their count, a claim that could not be independently verified. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that two unidentified projectiles struck a tanker’s engine room about 14 nautical miles northeast of Oman’s coastal village of Limah, with no casualties reported. US media, citing US officials, reported that Central Command had prepared plans for strikes that could begin as early as Wednesday, after the midterm elections, when three American aircraft carriers would be in the region.IranUnited StatesStrait of HormuzThe GulfEnergy https://sagire.online/wire/840fb52c/https://sagire.online/wire/840fb52c/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 22:21:00 -0300Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that the United States launched strikes on Iran, saying the target was a newly completed anti-aircraft facility, hit the previous night, in a minor attack. Trump said US forces stand ready to act, but that there may be no reason for further action. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the government is still trying to resolve the crisis through dialogue and that no one will benefit if war reignites, while negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the Islamic Republic stands ready for battle. An Israeli military spokesperson said Israel was not involved in the latest strikes. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said both sides are reviewing the proposals presented by Doha and that there is still a chance for an interim deal. A senior Iranian official said Tehran stands ready to reopen Hormuz within two days if Washington accepts its list of demands.IranUnited StatesConflictStrait of Hormuz https://sagire.online/wire/b3644c2e/https://sagire.online/wire/b3644c2e/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 18:23:00 -0300The November contract of the Dubai benchmark traded at the start of this week at a discount of about $2 per barrel to the December contract, traders and brokers told Bloomberg — the first time the Dubai curve has slipped into contango since July. Contango, a structure in which contracts dated further out are worth more than prompt ones, indicates that concern about an immediate lack of crude has eased. Physical flows had been rising for two months, with Gulf producers accelerating ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman once tankers clear Hormuz. Rising Middle East supply has weakened both Dubai and Murban prices and increased buying from Asian refiners, especially in India, which preferred additional Middle Eastern cargoes to more expensive Russian barrels with higher freight costs.United Arab EmiratesOilThe GulfStrait of Hormuz https://sagire.online/wire/f252f073/https://sagire.online/wire/f252f073/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 18:22:00 -0300US officials acknowledged having launched strikes on the Iranian island of Qeshm, in the Strait of Hormuz, and told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that the operation was limited and responded to fire from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at a US aircraft. Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported several explosions on the island on Monday. According to The New York Times, US Central Command (Centcom) has a plan to strike Iran as early as Wednesday, after the midterm elections, when three aircraft carriers will be in the region. Some cabinet members want more time for sanctions and a US blockade, saying that economic pressure would eventually bring down Iran’s government; other officials see little prospect of its collapse without further strikes. Trump told Axios he was in no rush: “Either way, we will do something, but there is no rush. We have weakened them financially.” In an interview with Fox News, he said the US “may need to strike Pickaxe,” a site linked to Iran’s nuclear program.United StatesIranStrait of HormuzThe GulfNuclear