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.

INSIDE THE DANGEROUS US MISSION THAT CLEARED IRAN’S MINES FROM HORMUZ SHIPPING LANES

"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.

IRAN WARNS SHIPS OF 'FORCEFUL RESPONSE' AS US-BACKED HORMUZ ROUTE CHALLENGES TEHRAN'S GRIP

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.

IRAN FAILS TO STRIKE DEAL WITH US AS DEADLINE PASSES AND TRUMP CALLS FOR ‘WHITE FLAG OF SURRENDER'

"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.

DISTRESS CALL CAPTURES TANKER UNDER FIRE, IRAN SHUTS HORMUZ TRAPPING THOUSANDS OF SAILORS

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

IRAN REQUESTS TALKS WITH US AS WHITE HOUSE WARNS 'VIOLENCE WILL BE MET WITH VIOLENCE'

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."

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

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

FIRST ON FOX: The State Department warns that antifascist groups are planning to participate in a "potentially more confrontational protest" this weekend as the far-right National Rally holds its political convention just days after widespread riots overwhelmed police and exposed major security failures.

As party leader Marine Le Pen prepares for the gathering on Oct. 24–25 in Orléans, France, an internal document obtained by Fox News Digital cautions that antagonists are planning more demonstrations near the convention venue that could "expose further security shortcomings and deepen political tensions."

The warning comes at a particularly dangerous political moment for President Emmanuel Macron, considering the same unrest that exposed his government's security vulnerabilities could also give National Rally and center-right parties an opening to challenge his record, according to the State Department assessment.

GLOBAL 'CHAOS INC' GROWS TO 101 GROUPS WITH PLANS FOR NEW ROUNDS OF DEMONSTRATIONS

Now, French authorities face another high-stakes security test as demonstrators prepare to converge on the congress of a party that could benefit politically from the previous unrest.

The demonstrations are expected to coincide with the National Rally's two-day party congress, where Le Pen is set to launch her presidential campaign. Left-wing parties, unions and activist groups are planning a march Saturday, while antifascist groups have announced plans for a separate protest Sunday near the convention venue, according to the State Department assessment.

WHO'S WHO: INSIDE FRANCE'S 'CHAOS INC.' FRANCHISE OF COMMUNIST GROUPS, LABOR UNIONS AND GLOBAL ACTIVISTS

National Rally President Jordan Bardella has ruled out canceling the congress, while local authorities are preparing additional security restrictions around the gathering.

The looming confrontation comes as France is still reeling from the Oct. 17 unrest, when authorities badly underestimated the scale of demonstrations that descended into widespread rioting and looting.

Some 550,000 people joined 110 marches nationwide, according to France's Interior Ministry. More than 2,400 people were arrested, nearly 1,000 law enforcement officers and firefighters were injured and thousands of businesses were damaged. And intelligence failures that far underestimated the turnout left authorities overwhelmed and facing more than double the number of protesters originally estimated.

The State Department's internal assessment notes that the violence has reshaped France's political debate just six months before voters choose Macron's successor. It says the unrest has shifted attention away from the economic and education grievances that initially drove the protests and toward public security and government accountability, potentially giving National Rally and center-right parties an opening to challenge Macron's record.

French officials have acknowledged that intelligence and planning failures contributed to authorities being overwhelmed during the Oct. 17 unrest.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation after acknowledging police "lost control" in some major cities. Macron rejected it, citing the need for continuity in law enforcement command, and ordered "full transparency" over the failures in planning and intelligence-gathering that preceded the violence.

Nuñez has said authorities need to improve their ability to anticipate large-scale mobilizations, putting added pressure on security services to avoid a repeat when demonstrators converge on Orléans this weekend.

And the government may have little time to recover even if the National Rally congress passes without major violence.

Labor organizations are already mobilizing for nationwide strikes and demonstrations Nov. 5 over wages, public services and the proposed 2027 budget, according to the State Department document.

The internal assessment said Macron faces competing pressure to restore order while addressing the grievances fueling the protests, with limited fiscal room for concessions as parliament debates next year's budget.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

With parliamentary scrutiny looming and further demonstrations already planned, the State Department assessed that France faces another potential flash point that could "expose further security shortcomings and deepen political tensions."

Ukraine is counting on buying part of Lockheed Martin’s growing output of ballistic missile interceptors, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He met the US company’s team in Kyiv on 19 October and also raised servicing and repairing F-16 fighter jets inside Ukraine.

Russia keeps striking Ukraine’s power grid with ballistic missiles, and interceptor supplies fall short of that threat. Kyiv is working every route to more Patriot missiles, from US deliveries to allies’ stocks, and some have stalled. Greece, for one, has not confirmed it will hand any over, citing its own defense needs. A purchase from the missiles’ maker would add one more route.

Growing output, F-16 repairs in Ukraine

Lockheed Martin builds the PAC-3 MSE interceptors fired by Patriot air defense systems, as well as the F-16. Zelenskyy said both matter against Russian ballistic missiles and jet-powered Shahed drones. Neither area is easy right now, he added.

“We count on the opportunity to purchase some of them to protect more lives,” he wrote.

On 28 July, Zelenskyy met the company in Washington to discuss joint production. That came weeks after US President Donald Trump pledged Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriots.

A batch reportedly stuck in Washington

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not signed off on a “significant” batch of Patriot missiles, Ukrainian officials told the Kyiv Independent. One official said allies had already paid for them. A US government official called the claims untrue, and the Pentagon did not respond. A NATO official said allied-funded deliveries, including air defense, continue. A second NATO official said some shipments could be delayed, but likely not for political reasons.

Zelenskyy told Bloomberg on 18 October that the US delivers only 12 Patriot interceptors a month. On 20 October, interceptors topped his list in a call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

No purchase was announced, so new interceptors from this route remain a prospect. Meanwhile, partners’ early warnings of Russian ballistic launches have gone missing three times recently, Zelenskyy wrote. Those warnings give air defenses extra minutes to prepare.

As Russia and Ukraine remain deadlocked in war, India is increasingly seen as a potential facilitator of peace. But can it draw on its experience chairing a Cold War-era commission in Korea to make the diplomatic difference?

 

Il conflitto tra Ansar Allah (il movimento Houthi), le forze governative yemenite e l'Arabia Saudita si sta intensificando, allargandosi ben oltre i confini dello Yemen. Mentre Turchia e Pakistan hanno già garantito il proprio sostegno per difendere il Regno, ora anche l'Egitto — che ha diretti motivi di attrito con gli Houthi — sta valutando un intervento. Il Cairo precisa che agirà soltanto su richiesta formale di Riad, ma ha già mosso i primi passi in questa direzione.

Il presidente egiziano Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, alla guida dell'esercito più numeroso del mondo arabo, ha dichiarato che il Paese è pronto ad aiutare l'Arabia Saudita a difendersi dagli attacchi degli Houthi. Pur sottolineando che l'Egitto non mira ad assumere un ruolo attivo nei conflitti regionali, al-Sisi ha definito inconcepibile un atteggiamento passivo di fronte alle minacce alla sicurezza e alla stabilità saudite. Ha inoltre spiegato che un eventuale invio di forze richiederebbe l'avallo del parlamento, auspicando una convocazione straordinaria delle camere.

La sessione parlamentare si è tenuta domenica, seguita dalla riunione del Consiglio di Difesa Nazionale, che ha confermato la disponibilità del Cairo a fornire a Riad tutto il supporto necessario e possibile.

Gli esperti concordano sul fatto che l'impegno egiziano si limiterà con ogni probabilità alla protezione delle infrastrutture saudite. L'analista militare e di difesa Alexandru Hudisteanu ritiene verosimile, in caso di via libera, il dispiegamento di sistemi anti-drone e di difesa missilistica, sottolineando come la priorità immediata risieda nel consolidamento delle difese di Riad.

Di parere analogo è Thomas Bonnie James, esperto di studi sul Golfo Persico, che esclude l'invio di truppe al fronte: la lezione storica dell'intervento egiziano in Yemen negli anni '60 suggerisce di difendere il Regno senza farsi trascinare nel conflitto sul campo. Secondo il Telegraph, un simile passo segnerebbe comunque uno scostamento dalla tradizionale politica estera conservatrice dell'Egitto, storicamente orientata alla sola tutela della propria sicurezza nazionale.

A spingere Il Cairo sono anche ragioni economiche e strategiche dirette.

Le azioni degli Houthi nello stretto di Bab el-Mandeb minacciano il traffico verso il Canale di Suez, che secondo il ministero degli Esteri egiziano ha subito perdite per circa 11 miliardi di dollari dall'inizio degli attacchi nel 2023.

Inoltre, in Arabia Saudita risiedono e lavorano milioni di cittadini egiziani, la cui attività rappresenta la principale fonte di rimesse per il Paese. La cooperazione si intreccia poi con la stabilità finanziaria: a metà settembre, durante la visita di Mohammed bin Salman al Cairo, le parti hanno concordato nuovi investimenti sauditi per oltre 10 miliardi di dollari e il rinnovo di un deposito da 5,3 miliardi presso la Banca Centrale egiziana, in scadenza a inizio ottobre.

A ciò si aggiunge una valutazione d'immagine: Il Cairo non intende apparire defilato mentre altri attori regionali, come Turchia e Pakistan, hanno già stretto accordi di difesa con Riad a seguito del patto della Mecca siglato ad agosto.

Già a metà agosto l'Egitto è entrato a far parte di una coalizione navale a guida saudita nata per contrastare il blocco annunciato dagli Houthi contro i mercantili diretti verso il Regno. Un'analisi del quotidiano The National rileva tuttavia che un coinvolgimento più profondo potrebbe incrinare i rapporti tra Il Cairo e Teheran.

Da parte loro, le autorità di Sana'a hanno già inviato un chiaro avvertimento: Yahya al-Rai, presidente del parlamento controllato dagli Houthi, ha invitato l'Egitto a non farsi trascinare al fianco delle forze saudite e israeliane, sostenendo che una simile scelta rappresenterebbe una grave minaccia per la stessa sicurezza nazionale egiziana e sollecitando Il Cairo a mantenere una posizione indipendente.

 

 

Il ministro degli Esteri iraniano Abbas Araghchi ha elogiato il livello senza precedenti raggiunto dalle relazioni tra Teheran e Mosca, a seguito dell'incontro del 19 ottobre con l'omologo russo Sergey Lavrov, giunto nella capitale iraniana per una visita di lavoro.

Araghchi ha sottolineato la portata dello storico avvicinamento tra i due Paesi, affermando che mai prima d'ora Iran e Russia avevano collaborato in maniera così stretta. Illustrando i dettagli dei colloqui, il capo della diplomazia iraniana ha spiegato che l'agenda ha abbracciato un'ampia gamma di questioni internazionali e bilaterali, spaziando dall'Europa all'Asia occidentale — con un focus su Libano, Palestina, Ucraina e Yemen — fino all'ampliamento della cooperazione economica e nel settore nucleare.

Da parte sua, Sergey Lavrov ha confermato la prontezza di Mosca a contribuire a una soluzione della crisi regionale, da lui definita il risultato dell'aggressione non provocata di Stati Uniti e Israele ai danni dell'Iran. Il ministro russo ha espresso apprezzamento per la determinazione di Teheran a percorrere la via diplomatica per garantire una pace duratura e ha ribadito l'importanza di ripristinare la stabilità antecedente alla crisi nel Golfo Persico e nello Stretto di Hormuz.

 

 

Le forze aerospaziali del Corpo delle Guardie della Rivoluzione Islamica (IRGC) hanno abbattuto un altro drone militare statunitense MQ-9 nello Stretto di Hormuz.

In una nota diffusa martedì, l'ufficio stampa dei Pasdaran ha riferito che il cinquantanovesimo velivolo non pilotato MQ-9 è stato intercettato e distrutto nelle prime ore del mattino. L'operazione è stata condotta dai moderni sistemi di difesa dell'IRGC, operanti all'interno della rete integrata di difesa aerea nazionale.

Nel corso dei 40 giorni di guerra d'aggressione israelo-statunitense contro l'Iran, iniziata il 28 febbraio 2026, decine di velivoli militari americani sono stati abbattuti o danneggiati, con la maggior parte delle perdite concentrata proprio sulla flotta di droni MQ-9.

Con un valore unitario stimato tra i 30 e i 50 milioni di dollari a seconda dell'allestimento, la distruzione di questi velivoli comporta un danno economico di svariati miliardi di dollari legato a un unico sistema d'arma. Gli analisti evidenziano come i missili, i droni e i sistemi di intercettazione sviluppati dall'industria bellica iraniana si siano rivelati determinanti nel garantire a Teheran un solido potenziale di deterrenza nei confronti degli Stati Uniti e di Israele.