Iran Says Supertanker Hit Mine In Strait of Hormuz
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said on October 17 that a supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil exploded and caught fire after hitting a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement, the IRGC Navy said the vessel had been trying to pass through the strait "illegally," using a route not approved by Tehran. It said the tanker had switched off all its positioning and radar systems and was attempting the transit "through deception and with the support of the US military."
The IRGC did not name the vessel or give details on its crew or the extent of the damage. Its claims could not be independently verified.
In a separate incident, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center said it had received a delayed report of a tanker being struck by an unknown projectile about 68 nautical miles northeast of Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia. UKMTO said all crew were safe and had been evacuated, with no environmental impact reported.
Sanctions, War, Isolation: Why Hasn't Iran's Hard-Line Government Collapsed?
Iran's Islamic republic has survived the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in February, the loss of senior military commanders, war, economic crisis, and widespread public discontent. So why is the system still standing?
Vahid Pourostad of RFE/RL Radio Farda's Iran Tomorrow program explains that its survival rests less on popular support than on a still-functioning security apparatus, entrenched networks of power, and a fractured opposition.
US Says Blockade Has Cost Iran $25 Billion in Oil Exports
The US naval blockade of Iran has prevented at least $25 billion in crude oil exports, and Washington has frozen nearly $350 million in Iranian cryptocurrency assets, the commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
In a video message released on October 16, Admiral Brad Cooper said economic pressure had grown so severe that Tehran-aligned militias were reportedly withholding fighters' salaries to send money back to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which he said was itself failing to pay its forces.
Cooper said Iran had no seaborne imports or exports apart from US-approved humanitarian aid. He added that around 400 commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz in the past week, with US forces helping regional partners move more than 100 million barrels of crude.
However, Reuters reported on October 17 that Iran has exported some liquefied petroleum gas and jet fuel since July, with at least eight tankers carrying about 4.1 million barrels of Iranian LPG leaving the Gulf of Oman, according to ship-tracking data and satellite imagery.
The shipments are a fraction of Iran's previous energy exports. Data firm Kpler says Iran's crude exports fell to zero in September but US officials have questioned the tracking data, citing possible spoofing of vessel locations and identities.
US Lawmakers Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill To Expand Internet Access In Iran
Two US representatives have reintroduced bipartisan legislation aimed at expanding Iranians' access to the open Internet and secure communications.
Republican Claudia Tenney of New York and Democrat Yassamin Ansari of Arizona announced the Internet Reach and Access Now (IRAN) Act on October 15. The bill has 13 additional cosponsors from both parties and is supported by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA).
The legislation follows Iran's near-total Internet blackout that began on February 28 amid US-Israeli military strikes. After 88 days of disruption, international connectivity began to return in late May, although restrictions on online services have persisted.
According to the lawmakers, the revised bill aims to strengthen US efforts against internet censorship and surveillance, improve secure communications, and help Iranians access independent information.
One focus is evaluating emerging technologies, including direct-to-cell satellite communications, which could connect compatible mobile phones to satellites without conventional cellular towers. However, technical and regulatory barriers mean the technology does not guarantee immediate, nationwide Internet access.
The bill also calls for evaluating virtual private networks (VPNs), decentralized and peer-to-peer networks, and other circumvention tools. It seeks expanded cybersecurity training and secure digital resources for journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society activists.
Additionally, the legislation would improve coordination among US government agencies to prevent sanctions and export controls from unintentionally obstructing access to internet technologies. PAAIA says the revised bill received technical assistance from the US State Department and supports preserving satellite communications coverage over Iran.
The IRAN Act was previously introduced in February. Its reintroduction does not mean it has become law or that satellite Internet services will immediately become available to Iranian users. It must still pass through Congress and receive presidential approval.
Iran Denies Role In Houthi Attacks On Saudi Arabia
Iran has rejected Saudi accusations that it was behind recent Houthi attacks on the kingdom and repeated Tehran's offer to mediate between Riyadh and the Yemeni rebel group.
"The Islamic republic of Iran rejects any claim of Iran's role in the operations of the Yemenis," Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement on October 16.
Baqaei said the Iran-aligned Houthis act "based on their own interests and assessments," adding that such claims were not credible to anyone familiar with Iran's relations with its allies.
His comments came after Rayed Krimly, Saudi Arabia's deputy foreign minister for public diplomacy, said earlier this week that Iran continues "to arm, train, and support the Houthi militia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions" and was encouraging the group to escalate attacks. Krimly also accused the Houthis of refusing to meet in Oman.
Yemen's civil war reignited in July after years of relative calm following a UN-brokered truce in 2022. Saudi Arabia backs Yemen's internationally recognized government against the Houthis, who seized Sanaa in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened militarily in 2015.
Iran's Security Challenges Compounded By Rising Domestic Insurgency
Iran's vast and restive southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, located along the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, has witnessed a deadly flare-up of violence in recent weeks.
Armed groups and Iranian security forces have clashed almost daily across the impoverished province, the site of a decades-long, low-level insurgency.
Separatist groups and Islamist militants in Sistan-Baluchistan, home to Iran's marginalized ethnic Baluch minority, are increasingly coordinating their efforts to challenge the Iranian state, experts say.
The intensifying insurgency has compounded the security threats facing Iran, which remains at war with the United States and Israel and braces for a possible resumption of major US combat operations.
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US Sanctions Cuban State Bank Over Links To Iran, Rubio Says
WASHINGTON -- The United States on October 15 sanctioned Cuban state-owned Banco Internacional de Comercio S.A. (BICSA) for providing services to an Iranian bank under US sanctions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, highlighting Washington's efforts to disrupt financial links between countries it views as hostile to US interests.
Rubio said BICSA had provided services to Iran's Karafarin Bank since at least 2022. The US Treasury Department sanctioned Karafarin Bank in 2020 under an executive order targeting Iran's financial sector.
The action against BICSA, announced alongside a separate Treasury Department move targeting Iranian financial actors, underscores the Trump administration's push to extend economic pressure beyond Tehran to countries and institutions that help sustain its financial networks.
"The Trump Administration will not tolerate a rogue state hosting hostile foreign military, intelligence and terror operations less than a hundred miles from the American homeland," Rubio said in a statement.
He described Cuba as an outpost for hostile foreign actors, including Iran, and said Washington would continue to identify and dismantle the Cuban government's financial and security ties with Tehran and other countries it considers threats.
Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert at Obsidian Risk Advisors, said the move reflected a broader effort to disrupt cooperation among economies facing US sanctions.
"Sanctioned economies have learned to survive by leaning on one another," Erickson told RFE/RL. "Washington is now attempting to dismantle those relationships, recognizing that economically isolating Iran means targeting not just Tehran, but the countries helping sustain it. Cuba is another front in that expanding campaign."
Erickson said the sanctions were unlikely to inflict significant economic damage on Iran by themselves but carried broader strategic importance as Washington sought to weaken the network of countries and institutions supporting sanctioned economies.
"These sanctions are unlikely to meaningfully damage Iran's economy on their own, but their strategic significance is greater than their immediate economic impact," he said, adding that the Treasury's Department's so-called Operation Economic Outcast was increasingly targeting the wider network sustaining Iran.
Under the measures, BICSA's property and interests in property within the US or under the possession or control of US persons must be blocked and reported to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Entities that are 50 percent or more owned by blocked persons are also subject to blocking.
Saudis Accuse Iran Of Encouraging Houthi Attacks On Riyadh
A Saudi Foreign Ministry official on October 14 accused Iran of encouraging Yemen's Houthi rebels to intensify attacks on Saudi Arabia, saying Tehran continues to arm, train, and support the group.
"Iran continues to arm, train, and support the Houthi militia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions," Rayed Krimly, deputy minister for public diplomacy at the ministry, said during a virtual briefing with reporters.
"We think the escalation of Houthi attacks in this latest phase of the conflict is being encouraged by Iran," he added.
Krimly said Riyadh remained in direct contact with Tehran but questioned whether Iran was prepared to make the concessions needed for a settlement.
"We still have direct communications with Iran," he said. "Overall, it still doesn't seem like the Iranians can make the necessary concessions to reach a solution."
He also accused the Iran-allied Houthis of refusing a Saudi request to meet in Muscat several weeks ago.
“At the beginning of this escalation, we asked them to meet in Muscat, Oman, and they refused,” Krimly said, describing it as the last communication between the sides.
Separately, Saudi-led coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said on October 14 that the Houthis had launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month. The coalition reported 17 deaths and 333 injuries in the attacks.
He called on the Houthis to stop targeting civilian infrastructure, including airports, ports, and oil facilities.
The renewed fighting has intensified pressure on Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, following a series of deadly attacks on airports and energy infrastructure.
On October 12, US President Donald Trump also accused the Houthis of acting at Iran's behest in a Truth Social post.
"They've been silent for a long time, but now they've emerged again, probably at the behest of Iran," he wrote, also accusing the group of trying to push up oil prices ahead of the US midterm elections.
Yemen's civil war reignited in July after years of relative calm following a UN-brokered truce in 2022. Saudi Arabia has supported Yemen's internationally recognized government against the Houthis, who seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened militarily in 2015.
UN Warns Hormuz Fertilizer Disruption Could Trigger Food Crisis
A failure by the United States and Iran to agree within weeks on a plan to transport fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a food security crisis in parts of Asia and Africa, a senior United Nations official warned.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, a UN undersecretary-general and executive director of the UN Office for Project Services, told Reuters on October 14 that a UN-backed mechanism could be activated within seven to 10 days of an agreement between Washington and Tehran.
"It's absolutely crucial to get the deal in the next few weeks. Otherwise, we will miss the planting season," he said on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Bangkok.
The proposed plan would establish a coordination center in Oman to register vessels and arrange safe passage. UN monitors would work with local authorities at Gulf ports to verify cargo loading while ships would be tracked during transit.
The passage of just five vessels a day through the strait could maintain fertilizer supplies to countries in critical need, Moreira da Silva said.
The UN established a task force in March to facilitate fertilizer shipments through the waterway, but the mechanism has yet to be implemented.
Before the war began on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz handled roughly one-third of globally traded urea, the world's most widely used fertilizer, and nearly half of seaborne sulfur, a key industrial input. Fertilizer shipments from the Gulf have remained largely halted for more than six months, the International Food Policy Research Institute said.
An August report by the International Chamber of Commerce warned that prolonged disruption could push prices up by as much as 81 percent for cereals, 66 percent for oil crops, and 30 percent for animal products under its modeled scenario.
The crisis is compounded by shipping disruptions in the Black Sea and Red Sea, as well as climate risks, Moreira da Silva said.
A US State Department spokesman told Reuters that the US military would continue taking action against what Washington described as Iran's attempts to disrupt freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump Says US May Have 'Gone Too Far' In Killing Iranian Leaders
US President Donald Trump has suggested that the killing of senior Iranian leaders in US and Israeli strikes may have gone too far, saying Washington is struggling to identify whom to negotiate with in Tehran.
"We might have gone too far with the leaders because we don't know who the hell we're dealing with anymore," Trump said at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on October 12.
He echoed the sentiment two days later at a rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, saying on October 14: "I might have gone too far. I don't know who the hell to deal with."
Trump said Iran had replaced leaders killed in the strikes with officials from lower levels of its leadership, some of whom had also been killed.
"Their first-level leaders are gone; they picked a second level. Their second-level leaders are gone; they picked a third level. Half of them are gone," he said.
He added that Iranian officials had asked him not to kill any more leaders.
"They made me promise not to take out any more, and I did. I promised them," he said, without specifying when or to whom he had made the promise.