Sea mines have resurfaced as a threat in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran claimed Oct.17 that two oil tankers caught fire after striking the explosives, raising fresh alarms over the safety of one of the world's most critical shipping lanes.

This came as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) warned that sea mines pose a serious threat to vessels navigating the strategic waterway and while Tehran continues to maintain its own unauthorized shipping corridor inside its territorial waters.

"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.

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

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said Saturday that two oil tankers caught fire after striking naval mines while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported, citing Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

State media also said both tankers were carrying about 2 million barrels of crude oil, according to Reuters.

IRNA also reported that the vessels had switched off their positioning and radar systems and attempted to use a route through the strategic waterway that Iran had not authorized.

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The second tanker was left immobilized after striking a mine, according to the Reuters report.

The alleged strikes came as Tehran continued to maintain its transit passageway inside Iranian territorial waters, imposing tolls and safety fees administered by the IRGC — a framework rejected by Washington and the IMO as inconsistent with international maritime law.

International shipping through the narrow chokepoint has historically relied 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.

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"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."

"We have received confirmation from Iran about the establishment of its temporary route in the waters," he added before stating that the route was not provided with "an official confirmation or a decision of the organization."

"Any other route needs to actually be sent to the organization to go through the processes, and we have not received that."

"We have received communication from Iran to use that route because of the conflict," Dominguez clarified.

"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."

The developments also came amid stalled negotiations between Washington and Tehran over ending the conflict and restoring maritime traffic.

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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," Reuters reported, according to IRNA.

Rezaei said the U.S. had accepted some of Iran's seven conditions but that other issues remained unresolved, adding that Tehran was no longer responding to Washington and that the U.S. needed to clarify the outstanding matters.

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

"Our situation is clear and based on ⁠the seven-day proposal presented to the US. They shared comments which ​we are reviewing, but our proposal is still on the table ​and if there is any honesty on the US part, which there isn't, the way to reopening the Strait of Hormuz is obvious," Araqchi said in ​Baghdad, Reuters reported

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Meanwhile, attacks on commercial 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.

For commercial shipping operators, Dominguez warned that the continued threat of mines and attacks means the waterway has yet to return to normal operations.

The Strait of Hormuz is "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."

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

Government forces launched fresh offensives across multiple Yemeni front lines, and a tightening blockade increasingly threatens the besieged city of Taiz. The death toll from fighting in Shabwah province keeps rising.

The UK announced it will provide additional defensive military support to Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks escalate in the region. London frames the deployment as defensive support rather than a combat mission.

A new coalition of Iranian opposition groups in the restive southeastern provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan and Kerman in the Islamic Republic have launched a string of armed attacks against the clerical regime in the region.

The six strikes claimed by the coalition known as the People’s Fighters Front (JMM) have contributed to instability in the provinces, raising pressing questions about whether armed resistance against the clerical regime in Tehran will spread and if the regime can retain control over Sistan and Baluchistan, which is a majority Iranian Sunni province.

Iran is largely a Shiite Muslim country, and the minority Iranian Sunni population has faced discrimination over the decades. Sistan and Baluchistan is the second largest of the 31 Iranian provinces.

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Mardo Soghom, an Iran expert who has written extensively about the Islamic Republic, told Fox News Digital, "The Sunni unrest can stretch the regime's military and internal security capabilities and have a psychological impact on its forces, in addition to what they experienced during the 40-day operation by the U.S. and Israel. The armed groups would not be able to establish control of the south-east, but they can seriously weaken the regime's control."

He added, "Whether these forces are receiving assistance from the Islamic Republic's adversaries — being that the Gulf Arab states or even Israel and the U.S. — remains an open question."

According to an October Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) report, "The pace of violence accelerated significantly in recent weeks [in the provinces] with 18 incidents recorded in just the final 18 days of the reporting period, surpassing the total for any previous full month." 

JMM coalesced as an opposition coalition in Dec. 2025 through an amalgam of Baloch nationalist organizations with the militant Sunni group Jaish al-Adl.

HRANA documented "at least 63 armed incidents were recorded across Iran’s southeastern provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan and Kerman between March 31 and Oct.10, 2026, amid a sharp escalation in armed violence in the region."

The armed resistance resulted in "at least 94 people dead and 33 injured, while official sources reported 87 fatalities and 10 injuries."

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The Baloch coalition stunned the regime on Oct. 14 with the assassinations of women members of the Basij paramilitaries, including a commander and a police officer in Sistan and Baluchistan Province. The Basij has been designated a terrorist entity by the U.S. government because it falls under the American-classified terrorist movement Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Just days before the attack on the female Basij commander, Iranian regime-controlled media reported that Nosrat Eftekhari, deputy for Cultural and Social Affairs of the Provincial Law Enforcement Command, was killed by a roadside bomb in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchistan provinces.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital that "There have been periodic cycles of unrest in Sistan and Baluchistan Province over the years. What we are now witnessing is an uptick in such activity. The current commander of the IRGC’s Ground Forces, Mohammad Karami used to be governor of the province and commanded IRGC forces there. His experience in the province was one of the reasons Karami was elevated to the post in 2025 given the sensitive security situation in the country."

Brodsky continued that "I don’t see any imminent threat in terms of such a seizure of control, but a red line for Iranians, especially in the opposition, is preserving the territorial integrity of Iran. That needs to be understood in Western capitals."

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Khalilullah Balochi, who is a Baluch activist and journalist, told Iran International that "The activities of these groups are not new; what is new is the intensification of attacks." 

JMM’s devastating attacks targeting the brutal Iranian regime have generated attention from Iranian dissidents and experts.

Navid Mohebbi, who worked as a Persian media analyst for the State Department's Public Affairs Bureau, told Fox News Digital "The newly formed popular Fighters Front has carried out a series of relatively successful attacks against mid-level regime officials and security personnel in Sistan and Baluchistan province in recent months, drawing a degree of public attention. At a time when the regime is executing protesters on a daily basis, the killing of certain mid-ranking security and military operatives has been met with some satisfaction among segments of Iranian society."

He warned, however, that "Nevertheless, the Iranian public remains deeply cautious and largely distrustful of such groups. Two major concerns underpin this distrust: the possibility of separatist ambitions and the influence of radical Islamism, which is fundamentally at odds with the increasingly secular outlook of Iranian society."

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Mohebbi sees encouraging signs from the JMM, including "the coalition’s recent statements, unlike the rhetoric traditionally associated with similar groups, contain no explicit references to Baluch separatism. Instead, the coalition has identified its primary objective as dismantling the system of Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) and liberating the country from its oppression. It has explicitly declared that it seeks ‘an Iran for all Iranians."’

He continued that "The reality is that these groups lack the capacity to confront the regime in conventional warfare. Through guerrilla operations, however, they can inflict significant psychological blows on the regime and its security establishment. Whether their activities can gain traction beyond Sistan and Baluchistan will depend largely on their ability to sustain what appears to be an effort to earn broader public trust."

Beni Sabti, an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Israel, told Fox News Digital the coalition has "a lot of guns" and created an "armed rebellion" against the Iranian regime in the provinces. He said, however, the armed upheaval is limited to the region Baluchistan.

Sabti, who was born in Tehran, said the clerical regime in the capital Tehran does not exercise solid control over the provinces, which resembles parts of South America where some governments lost sovereignty to militias.

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He said that there are no reporters in the restive region. As a result, it is difficult to secure accurate news. Sabti said the "IRGC has a headquarters there to fight against these Baluchis." The JMM coalition "can only continue to harm the soldiers and, from time to time, kill a commander. There are a lot of these local commanders in Iran. It is not like an air force commander."

Oil companies are weighing how to spend windfall profits after the Strait of Hormuz disruption pushed energy prices to multi-year highs. Trading desks have profited from the volatility stemming from the Iran war, adding pressure on producers to decide between investment, dividends and buybacks.

Vice President JD Vance declined to follow President Donald Trump in endorsing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's election, saying he would not get involved in Israeli politics. The split comes a week before Israelis vote and after Trump publicly backed Netanyahu's bid for re-election.

Egypt's parliament adjourned a planned vote on providing military support to Saudi Arabia after opposition lawmakers urged members to abstain over unclear terms of the commitment. The delay leaves Cairo's exact role in any Saudi-led security arrangement unresolved for now.

Israeli police said they arrested ten suspects in connection with attacks by Jewish settlers on a journalist and European diplomats visiting the occupied West Bank during the olive harvest. The assault was the latest in a string of settler violence against Palestinians and international observers in the territory.

Saudi Arabia has postponed its annual Future Investment Initiative conference to 2027 after Iran-backed Houthi forces escalated attacks on the kingdom. The Houthis have launched repeated missile and drone strikes on Saudi territory since a deadly airport attack earlier this month.

Houthi forces attacked a government security training camp in Yemen's Shabwa province on Monday, killing at least 53 people and wounding roughly 200, local authorities said. The strike is among the deadliest in weeks of intensifying fighting between the Iran-aligned group and the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government.

Bangladesh's government says it was not informed in advance of the execution of two of its citizens in Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities said last week they had executed the two Bangladeshi nationals over what they described as an "indecent act" committed in a mosque.

The UN's World Food Programme says funding shortages are forcing it to scale back its aid operation in Gaza. The agency says the number of people it reaches will fall by about a third, from 1.6 million to 1.1 million.

Thousands of sailors remain stranded near the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating attacks on commercial ships, the United Nations' top maritime official warned Sunday after Iran accused the U.S. military of using an international emergency radio channel to threaten civilian crews.

The warning also came amid reports that 24 ships had been attacked on the waterway over roughly two weeks, underscoring growing concerns about maritime safety in the region, according to Financial Times.

"The situation continues to be severe and critical when it comes to international shipping," International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told Fox News Digital.

"There is a double blockade and too many vessels have been attacked, particularly in recent days.

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"Seafarers have continued to perish in these attacks and around 6,000 seafarers remain trapped since the beginning of the conflict," he warned, adding that his message was not to transit the Strait of Hormuz or put seafarers at risk "until we have guarantees."

Dominguez's warning followed an Oct. 9 letter to the IMO in which Iran alleged that the U.S. military used VHF Channel 16, an internationally designated maritime distress and safety channel, to intimidate Iranian crews in the Persian Gulf.

"VHF Channel 16 has been repeatedly occupied for prolonged periods by the United States military forces operating in the Persian Gulf," the letter stated.

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"During such transmissions, Iranian seafarers have been addressed in Persian with threatening, abusive and provocative language and in certain instances urged to abandon their vessels."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, U.S. Central Command defended its enforcement of the naval blockade of Iranian ports.

"The U.S. naval blockade has been in place for months and is professionally communicated to all international mariners," CENTCOM said.

"Vessels that refuse to comply with blockade enforcement receive multiple warnings, with ample opportunity to comply.

"American forces remain highly vigilant, focused and professional while fully enforcing the naval blockade against Iran."

Iran's complaint was submitted by Seyed Ali Mousavi and its ambassador to the IMO and circulated to member states on Oct. 9, according to a copy reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Tehran also accused American forces of turning the maritime safety channel into an "instrument of military intimidation and psychological pressure against civilian crews."

The letter cited commercial vessels, shipping companies and maritime operators but provided no recordings, transcripts or specific details of the alleged exchanges. Fox News Digital could not independently verify the accusations.

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"Seafarers are not trained for combat, and they are not guilty of any conflicts that are happening around the world," Dominguez said.

"And we have seen this in several parts of the world where Channel 16, that should not be used for this kind of communication, starts receiving messages that may be perceived as actually threatening or that are outside the remit of why it was created."

Iran also asked the IMO to raise its allegations with member states and relevant international organizations, potentially including the International Telecommunication Union.

Dominguez said the IMO could review its regulations and procedures to determine whether stronger safeguards are needed, though he did not announce a formal investigation.

"Our role here at IMO is that when those situations take place, we will then look into any technical measures or any operational aspects that we may need to clarify further within our regulatory framework," he said, stressing that member states have equal rights to raise concerns, regardless of the conflict.

"We have a responsibility, and I have a duty as well, to circulate letters and notes that the countries actually put forward when they're also being affected."

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"We take all that information, meet at the level of different meetings of the organization and have the discussions," Dominguez added.

"If it's demonstrated that we probably need to improve our rules in order to avoid communications issues, or that we need to enhance the knowledge of how these channels should be used, that is a role for us."

The IMO had recorded 100 confirmed maritime incidents across the region as of Oct. 9, with 24 seafarers killed since the conflict began Feb. 28. Dominguez also warned that fraudulent ship registrations and false flags have become major contributors to the danger.

"What we've also seen right now is an increase in fraudulent registries with false flags that are taking the risk and acting as shuttle tankers in order to bring goods in and out," he said. "That's one of the reasons that we're seeing an escalation.

"And it's the irresponsible shipowners that are taking the risk in order to actually be able to trade and move some of the goods and the cargoes."

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"For me, any single case, any vessel that is attacked, any life of a seafarer that is lost, is a critical situation for me, because they are all relevant, they are all important."

Despite the confrontation, Dominguez said diplomatic channels with Iran remain open, though he has no direct contact with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"I have communications with all the member states of IMO, and that includes the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.

"Of course, that's through the diplomatic channels. I don't have direct contact with the IRGC.

"I have conversations with them and they respond to my messages. You know, the information flows. What is difficult is to get final decisions because of the conflict that is ongoing."

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Iranian Embassy for comment.

One of Saudi Arabia’s most iconic skyscrapers ordered office workers to stay home Sunday as escalating attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels rattled the capital of Riyadh amid fears of a widening Middle East conflict.

The move came after the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two drones in the Riyadh area, a third over the Eastern Province and two ballistic missiles in southern Saudi Arabia overnight, after authorities had earlier issued a threat alert in the capital, also shared on X.

Management at the 99-story Kingdom Centre, a landmark on Riyadh's skyline, ordered office employees to work remotely until further notice, according to reporting by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The directive affects a building whose tenants include major international financial institutions such as Merrill Lynch, consulting giant McKinsey & Company and the International Monetary Fund.

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"Please be advised that remote working arrangements are mandatory for all office employees at Kingdom Centre, effective immediately and until further notice," building management said in an email obtained by AFP.

Employees were instructed not to report back to their offices. The shopping mall at the base of the tower, however, remained open to the public.

Management did not specify a reason for the directive, but it came as repeated missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Houthis disrupted the Saudi capital.

The security concerns also follow a deadly Oct. 10 attack on King Khalid International Airport that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300 others.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, another strike the following day killed one person and injured 11.

Airport operations have been severely disrupted, while schools in Riyadh have extended remote learning measures amid continued security threats.

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The mounting crisis comes as Saudi Arabia's military reported two deaths in a helicopter crash near its southern border with Yemen.

Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, said Sunday that an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed in the Najran region because of a technical malfunction, killing both crew members.

Saudi civil defense authorities also reported Sunday that six people were injured when a hostile projectile struck a residential neighborhood in Najran, damaging three homes and three vehicles.

Meanwhile, Egypt moved toward potentially providing military assistance to Saudi Arabia as the kingdom confronts the growing Houthi threat.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi requested an emergency parliamentary session to authorize defensive military support for Saudi Arabia if requested by Riyadh, Reuters reported.

Lawmakers were expected to continue discussions Monday.

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The Egyptian presidency said Cairo was prepared to provide Saudi Arabia with necessary support to defend its security, stability, territorial integrity and Islamic holy sites.

The statement followed a meeting of Egypt's National Defense Council chaired by el-Sissi and attended by senior government and military officials.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty also spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan about regional developments and the importance of de-escalation, according to a post on X.

The potential involvement of Egypt, which has one of the Arab world's largest militaries, could significantly expand the regional response to the Houthis.

The Iran-backed group now controls Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and much of the country's north.

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Fighting with the Saudi-led coalition, which supports Yemen's internationally recognized government, has intensified amid the broader U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.

US President Donald Trump said American forces could stay in the region a bit longer, arguing recent strikes had eliminated Iran's nuclear capabilities. The remarks came amid ongoing tension between Washington and Tehran.

Gulf Cooperation Council ministers condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia as fighting in Yemen intensified. The council said the renewed violence has displaced more than 233,000 people across the country.

Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said the country's military has prepared a "new operational plan" to respond if the United States resumes attacks. The remarks came as shipping vessels in the region reported a rise in strikes.

US President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a social media post ahead of the October 27 general election. Trump described Netanyahu as a "Strong, Brave, and Brilliant" leader.

Saudi Arabia's finance minister said the region's prolonged crisis is dividing Middle East economies, with oil-exporting Gulf states cushioned by high energy prices while import-dependent neighbors face mounting strain. The comments come as tension near the Strait of Hormuz continues to weigh on oil markets.

The "vast majority" of Iran's attempted attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz are "unsuccessful" as the key waterway remains open for transit, U.S. Central Command spokesperson and U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins told Fox News Digital this week.

Hawkins spoke after CENTCOM said the GFS Pride, a Singapore-flagged, Cyprus-owned container ship was hit by an Iranian projectile in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday and sunk while being towed ashore due to a fire on board the ship.

"The vast majority of Iran's attempted attacks on innocent civilian mariners transiting an international waterway, being the Strait of Hormuz, they are unsuccessful," Hawkins said. 

"As a matter of fact, the U.S. military has assisted in providing coordinated protection for thousands of ships that have safely transited.

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"That translates to about 97% of the ships that have sought to transit the Strait of Hormuz have done so successfully without being hit by an Iranian projectile.

"But let's be clear here. What the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran is doing is unjustified, and it's also unsuccessful because they are not achieving their objective of closing the Strait of Hormuz," he added. 

"It is open, it is available for transit and we've seen that transit continue this very day."

In an update Friday from CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper, he said, "In recent days and months, we have seen the IRGC continually attack merchant ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and, in many cases, kill innocent civilian mariners.

"The International Maritime Organization reports that more than 20 civilian mariners have been killed by Iran's attacks against commercial shipping since February," Cooper continued.

"Over the last seven days alone, about 400 merchant ships have sailed through the Strait. U.S. forces have also assisted Gulf partners in shipping over 100 million barrels of crude oil during the same period, adding to the more than 1.3 billion barrels of crude we have helped regional allies ship through the Strait in recent months."

Hawkins also told Fox News Digital he thinks "every American should be proud of American service members who are serving in the Middle East, in particular focusing on doing two things at once as it relates to Iran.

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"And one is helping maintain flow through the Strait of Hormuz in the form of commercial vessels despite Iran's unjustified aggression," Hawkins said, noting that thousands of ships have crossed through the waterway over the last few months, "in addition to more than 1 billion barrels of crude oil.

"At the same time that they are encouraging traffic flow in support of international shipping, they are maintaining a steel wall blockade against Iran. There have been no exports or imports to Iran without U.S. permission in the form of allowing humanitarian ships to go through," Hawkins continued. 

"So, that shows the precision, dedication and professionalism of our troops who are executing this complex mission — not just one — but two at the same time."

More than 50,000 U.S. service members are stationed across the Middle East, according to Hawkins.

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"They are highly vigilant, they are highly dedicated and they're serving with courage and bravery. And they're doing so alongside our regional allies and partners. It shouldn't be forgotten that we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Gulf allies and partners to help them defend their airspace from unjustified and unwarranted attacks from Iran, and we have been highly successful in working together. And will continue to do that," he said.

Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this report.