Sea mines resurface in Strait of Hormuz as U.S.-Iran shipping talks stall

Sea mines have reappeared as a hazard in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran said two oil tankers caught fire following strikes on explosives, renewing concerns about the safety of a vital global shipping route.

The incidents come as the International Maritime Organization warns that mines remain a serious threat to vessels using the strategic waterway. Tehran continues to promote a separate transit corridor within Iranian territorial waters that has not been formally approved under international maritime rules.

“The traffic separation scheme, the information that we have is that they still have mines. And of course, whilst the conflict is ongoing, it’s very difficult for us to use third parties to verify that it is clear of these hazards,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told Fox News Digital.

Mine countermeasures ship USS Dextrous (MCM 13) (not pictured) sails with ships participating in the Oman-led exercise Khunjar Hadd in the Gulf of Oman. Dextrous is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East Region. (U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet/Handout via REUTERS)

“So in the meantime, we cannot guarantee that a vessel that intends to transit that route will not be hit by a mine,” Dominguez said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy said Saturday that two oil tankers caught fire after striking naval mines while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters, which cited Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Iranian state media said the vessels were carrying a combined total of about 2 million barrels of crude oil.

IRNA reported that the tankers had disabled their positioning and radar systems and attempted to use a route through the waterway that Iran had not authorized.

Smoke column rises from tanker El Gaia after incident in Strait of Hormuz

One of the tankers was left immobilized after striking a mine, according to Reuters.

The alleged incidents came as Tehran maintained its separate transit passageway inside Iranian territorial waters, imposing tolls and safety fees administered by the IRGC. Washington and the IMO have rejected the arrangement as inconsistent with international maritime law.

International shipping through the narrow waterway has historically depended on an IMO-approved traffic separation scheme adopted in 1968.

“Right now there’s only one route that was adopted back in 1968 that is approved and recognized for IMO and that appears in all the charts for the vessels to operate,” Dominguez explained.

Attacks on vessels around the Strait of Hormuz have surged over the past two weeks. Senior Iranian officials also told Reuters that Tehran has shifted its strategy for attacking commercial vessels during that period. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“There’s only one route that should be used for transit, but it’s not clear of mines right now, so it’s not safe,” Dominguez said.

Iran had communicated to the IMO that vessels should use its temporary route because of the conflict, according to Dominguez. However, the organization had not issued official confirmation or approval, and any alternative route must be submitted for review by the IMO and its member states.

“We’ve received communication from Iran to use that route because of the conflict. That’s the way that it’s been presented. But anything for us to approve needs to go through the mechanisms at the international maritime organizations, and the member states need to review it,” he said.

The developments came as negotiations between Washington and Tehran remained stalled, with the two sides seeking to end the conflict and restore maritime traffic.

Basij paramilitary force speed boats are sailing along the Persian Gulf near a general cargo vessel ( Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a former Revolutionary Guard commander, said Tehran considered Washington’s latest response to negotiations insufficient, according to Reuters and IRNA.

Rezaei said the United States had accepted some of Iran’s seven conditions, but other issues remained unresolved. He added that Tehran had stopped responding to Washington and that the U.S. needed to clarify the outstanding matters.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had presented a proposal to Washington through Qatar, which is mediating the negotiations. The proposal outlined conditions under which the Strait of Hormuz could reopen and normal maritime traffic could resume within seven days.

Araghchi said in Baghdad that the proposal remained on the table and that the United States had provided comments that Iran was reviewing. He accused Washington of dishonesty, saying the way to reopen the strait was clear if the U.S. were sincere, Reuters reported.

As U.S.-Iran talks opened Sunday in Switzerland, a dispute over who controls and monitors billions of dollars in potentially unfrozen Iranian assets emerged (Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via REUTERS)

Attacks on commercial vessels around the Strait of Hormuz have increased over the past two weeks, according to Reuters. Senior Iranian officials also said Tehran had altered its strategy for targeting commercial shipping during that period.

For commercial shipping operators, Dominguez warned that the continued threat of mines and attacks meant the waterway had not returned to normal operations. The Strait of Hormuz was “not open for business in the way that it was before the conflict started,” he said.

“Our role right now is to prepare for when we have the opportunity to go back, resume the operations, follow all the procedures at IMO, but not until the root causes are addressed, and those are beyond IMO,” Dominguez said.

Fox News Digital reached out to U.S. Central Command for comment.

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