Iran declared on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz had become 'completely closed' and disclosed where US ships had moved away to, amid a sharp escalation over one of the world's most important maritime passages. The IRGC said two unidentified oil tankers caught fire after hitting naval mines in the strait, and that its forces downed a US MQ-9 Reaper drone, warning that continued US operations would cost oil companies dearly. It also warned that vital cables in Hormuz would not be safe if Iranian infrastructure were targeted, while its spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebi said Iran would respond harshly to any US or Israeli aggression. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, for his part, said ship traffic and oil flows through Hormuz had reached between 80 and 100 percent of pre-war levels, describing Iran's actions against commercial ships as unprecedented since World War II.
Strategically, an Israeli official told Israel Hayom that Iran is trying to accelerate the process of manufacturing a nuclear bomb and is working to complete the weaponization component, warning that Israel and the United States will not allow Tehran to make progress in that direction and stressing that the option of a military strike remains on the table regardless of elections in the two countries. i24NEWS security analyst Yossi Yehoshua revealed that a US-Israeli attack on Iran was imminent in recent weeks but was halted under an agreement on a joint attack, and pointed to detected Iranian attempts to cause chaos ahead of elections in Israel and the US midterm elections, amid a high state of alert over fear of miscalculation; Netanyahu said there were indications Iran might initiate operations in the coming days. Trump said Washington faces a final decision on war with Iran and how it will achieve victory, that things are going 'very well' regarding Iran, and that he will not allow Iran to possess a nuclear weapon, while Rubio saw great difficulty in reaching an agreement with Iran under hardliners' control, amid reports of new US military plans that could include the use of the 'Mother of All Bombs' against Iranian sites if Trump orders operations to resume.
On the negotiating track, President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir in Tehran that Iran would not enter negotiations with Washington before its demands are met, foremost among them lifting the naval blockade and easing restrictions on oil exports, and said Iranians 'eat dirt and do not give up the nation's soil.' Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf affirmed that threats and military moves do not affect the Islamic Republic's strategic decisions, pointing to a lack of trust in America, while Reuters quoted Iranian officials as saying Tehran is deliberately prolonging negotiations, betting on politically weakening US President Donald Trump before the midterm congressional elections on 3 November, as it prepares for the possibility of renewed military confrontation; this puts Hezbollah before a sensitive phase intersecting with military and political pressures in Lebanon and Lebanese-Israeli talks in Tampa under US sponsorship over security arrangements in the south, Israeli withdrawal and the party's weapons file.
A report in Yedioth Ahronoth said a mediation proposal led by Qatar and Pakistan to de-escalate between the United States and Iran and resume negotiations includes the release of $6 billion of Iranian funds frozen in Qatari banks, and that the proposal carried by Asim Munir to Iranian officials has US approval and prior Iranian receptiveness. Tehran, however, affirmed its adherence to its conditions, with Qalibaf saying 'we have nothing new to say to Washington,' while Iranian media reported a brief visit by a Qatari delegation to Tehran.