Iran's Guards Navy says it stopped two tankers south of Hormuz for going dark

The report, carried by Iranian media, describes a seizure-style action rather than another mine strike or fire, and it comes as Tehran weighs a Qatari draft deal.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy says it stopped two oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz after they switched off their navigation systems and ignored radio warnings, according to Iranian media. If the vessels are boarded or held, that is a different kind of action from the mine strikes, fires and projectile hits that have been logged almost daily in late October, because it means taking control of a ship rather than damaging one already under way.

The justification is familiar. On October 12 the Guards said a third supertanker in two days had been struck after it went dark and ignored warnings while trying to leave.

That sets up the dispute over what is happening in the strait. US Central Command says the main transit routes are clear of mines, a claim hard to square with the Iranian accounts of tankers hitting them. A report of two ships stopped feeds the same argument between Washington and Tehran. Saudi export volumes and the Gulf crude premium had been normalising through October, and a stop with no reported damage does not reverse that on its own. A seizure that is followed through would.

The diplomacy is moving at the same time. US envoy Tom Barrack says a deal is very close, yet Iran on October 28 rejected Washington's seven-day Hormuz plan, calling its terms unacceptable demands. Qatari mediators have given Tehran a new draft, and an official briefed on the talks says Iran will reply by the end of the week. Axios has reported that US and Israeli officials expect a week-long bombing of Iran if there is no deal. Iran's answer, more than the tanker report, is what will set the price of crude.