On 1 November local time, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy announced that two 'non-compliant' oil tankers-one of which was a supertanker-had struck mines and exploded whilst navigating unauthorised routes through the Strait of Hormuz. On the same day, a Qatari natural gas tanker was attacked by an 'unidentified object' in the Persian Gulf. Following earlier reports that the US might resume military operations against Iran after the 3 November mid-term elections, market concerns regarding the safety of transit through the Strait of Hormuz have risen sharply. As of 30 October, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) had recorded 122 confirmed maritime incidents in the Middle East, with attacks involving adhesive mines having recently begun to occur.
