LONDON / TEHRAN, November 3 — Iran has sharply tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz on the day Americans vote in the midterm elections, nearly doubling its official blacklist of ships to 240 vessels, while its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that three more tankers were left adrift after explosions in the waterway over the past 12 hours. The claims, reported by the shipping industry journal TradeWinds on Tuesday, mark the latest escalation in the sea war that has run alongside the US–Iran conflict since February — and they landed hours after US forces struck Iranian targets on Qeshm Island.

Source: TradeWinds

In a statement distributed to Iranian media, the IRGC Navy said the three tankers were travelling on the southern, US-protected route through the strait when explosions left them adrift and ablaze. The semi-official Tasnim news agency, quoted by Reuters-syndicated reports, said the vessels had struck naval mines after switching off their navigation and identification systems and entering what Tehran calls unauthorised lanes. "Fishermen in the eastern part of the Strait of Hormuz reported a brightly-lit night," the IRGC said — a reference to fires said to be visible from the coast.

Source: Devdiscourse (Tasnim via syndication)

Awaaz Punjab stresses the status of this claim clearly: no source outside Iran has confirmed any such incident so far, TradeWinds reported, and no Western maritime agency had reported three burning tankers as of Tuesday morning. Iran habitually attributes ship casualties in the strait to mines struck by vessels that cross without Tehran's approval; maritime intelligence sources, by contrast, have usually blamed deliberate Iranian attacks by drones or missiles. US Central Command (CENTCOM) has repeatedly disputed Iran's account of who controls passage through the strait, and the IRGC Navy in turn accused CENTCOM of describing the situation using archival footage. Neither side's version of the overnight events could be independently verified.

The blacklist: from 126 ships to 240 in a matter of days

The verifiable development is the blacklist itself. Iran's self-styled Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) — the body Tehran created to police the waterway — has expanded its list of ships it says are violating the Islamic Republic's regulations to 240 vessels, TradeWinds reported. Late last week the list held just 126 ships, which means roughly 120 vessels have been added in days (yaani the list has almost doubled in under a week).

Seatrade Maritime, the shipping industry publication, reported the same expansion on Monday, adding that the PGSA has confirmed all vessels of South Korea's Sinokor Merchant Marine will be treated the same as blacklisted ships — Sinokor plays a leading role in the US-protected transits through the strait and was publicly threatened by the PGSA late last month. Other companies with multiple ships on the list include Adnoc Logistics & Services, the shipping arm of Abu Dhabi's state oil company, and Kuwait Oil Transport Co (KOTC), Kuwait's state tanker fleet. It was not immediately clear which individual vessels were added in the latest expansion.

Source: Seatrade Maritime via OrbSignal

Oil prices climb as the peace talks stall

Markets reacted within hours. Brent crude futures rose $1.84, or 1.76%, to $106.61 a barrel by 0744 GMT on Tuesday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.60, or 1.66%, to $98.06 a barrel, Reuters reported. Both benchmarks had plunged more than 7% on Monday, when talks between Iranian and Qatari officials briefly raised hopes of a settlement — hopes that faded after US officials confirmed the Qeshm Island strikes and a senior Iranian official told Reuters the two countries remain far from a deal and Tehran will not accept Washington's "excessive demands". Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Tehran had given Washington a "strong and rational response" and that "the ball is in the US' court", according to state media.

The blacklist expansion came a day after US forces struck Iranian targets on Qeshm Island in the strait — the strike President Trump linked to Iran's alleged attempt to lay sea mines and to missiles fired at a US base in Jordan. Read: US strikes Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

Background: a strait closed since the war began in February

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil and large volumes of liquefied natural gas. The war began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran; Tehran responded by closing the chokepoint. A Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding in June set a 60-day reopening period, and Iran created the PGSA to manage transit — but Tehran says American violations forced it to reimpose the closure. Maritime trackers say Iran has now attacked 40 vessels in and around the Gulf since September 29 in its latest campaign to tighten control of the strait and push oil prices higher ahead of the US midterms.

Tehran's stated conditions for a full reopening include lifting sanctions on its oil sector, unfreezing Iranian assets held abroad, ending the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and a comprehensive ceasefire on all fronts. Iran has said it could restore safe navigation within 48 hours if Washington accepts its package. Contacts continue through mediators — Iran's Foreign Ministry says messages are still being exchanged via intermediaries, Qatar has hosted repeated rounds of talks, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has described "very intensive" discussions — but both sides publicly describe the gap as wide.

On Tuesday a senior Iranian official said a deal to end the war was still out of reach, even as both sides kept talking through mediators. Read: Iran says a US deal is out of reach — 'the ball is in the US court'

What it means for Punjabi and Indian workers in the Gulf

The Gulf states — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman — are home to lakhs of Punjabi and Indian workers, including large numbers in shipping, ports, oil services, construction and trucking. A longer blacklist means more tankers and cargo ships face the risk of being stopped, turned back or worse in the strait, and every fresh claim of burning tankers raises insurance costs and danger for the mixed-nationality crews who sail these routes, among them Indian seafarers. Sustained oil prices above $100 a barrel also feed directly into fuel and freight costs on both sides of the diaspora — from Gulf employers to trucking families in Punjab and Canada.

What happens next

Three things will decide whether this is another claim-and-counterclaim round or a real escalation. First, verification: if UKMTO, CENTCOM or independent trackers confirm damaged tankers, the claim hardens into fact; if no wreck, fire or distress report surfaces, it stays an allegation. Second, Washington's response: President Trump has said he is in "no rush" to escalate and denied planning fresh strikes after Tuesday's midterms, but he has also warned Iran's nuclear site at Pickaxe Mountain could be hit — and US officials say the post-election decision is still his to make. Third, the talks: mediators are still shuttling, and Tehran's 48-hour reopening offer remains on the table if its conditions are met. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as confirmations arrive.