Middle East conflict: Trump says US ‘locked and loaded’ as four tankers catch fire near Hormuz

Four oil tankers caught fire after hitting mines while attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran said Wednesday, after it warned no one would benefit from a return to war.

It came a day after President Donald Trump said the United States had launched strikes on the Islamic republic, following reports of a raid on Qeshm, the largest island in the strait.

"Four non-compliant oil tankers attempting to pass through the prohibited passage south of the Strait of Hormuz were destroyed after striking naval mines and are still burning," Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement quoted by state TV.

"Two other non-compliant ships or vessels have also been halted."

The Guards also said they had shot down a drone over the strait.

Tehran claims control over Hormuz, a vital global energy conduit, and has targeted vessels that attempt to cross without its authorisation since the war erupted.

The US Embassy in Yemen has accused the Houthis of killing Mohammed Al Shami, a UN Human Rights Office staff member and father of three, while he was in detention. In a statement, the embassy said Al Shami was denied contact with his family and prevented from visiting his dying father or attending his funeral. It also accused the Houthis of concealing his body for months in a morgue in Sana'a while claiming he was alive. The embassy called for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained UN, diplomatic and humanitarian staff.

Talks between the US and Iran are described as "stalled", and US officials said strike plans were ready from as early as Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reported US President Donald Trump has "leaned toward" a large attack after the Nov. 3 midterms but has not decided.

Tracker accounts say a "second wave" of six more aircraft is underway, though this could not be independently confirm.

Flight data does not show what the planes carried, and a THAAD battery has been in Israel since October 2024.

Washington is reportedly "rapidly replenishing" THAAD and Patriot anti-missile batteries in southern Israel, positioning layered defenses ahead of an expected wave of Iranian ballistic missile retaliation.

The Saudi-led coalition said that it had intercepted three drones targeting Saudi territory, one of them over the western Mecca region, while Yemen's Houthi group said it had launched drone and ballistic missile attacks on an airport and an airbase in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

Coalition spokesman Turki Al Maliki said on social media platform X that its forces had intercepted and destroyed a drone over the Mecca region, without providing further details.

He later said that two drones had also been intercepted and destroyed, one in the Eastern Province and the other heading toward the southern region, Xinhua news agency reported.

Media reports, citing flight-tracking data, have noted a ramp up of US military cargo flights landing in southern Israel. News outlets noted that the ramp up of air defences may be a "sign" that the US is preparing for a "possible" attack on Iran. There has been no US confirmation of an attack plan. The “imminent” framing comes from open-source accounts.

One report states that at least 10 US military cargo planes landed at the Ovda and Nevatim air bases, most departing from Fort Bliss in Texas.

The same airlift pattern was observed in the days before the previous strike on Iran.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the US is sending a Patriot battery from Texas to bolster regional defenses.

The reinforcements point to concern about Iranian ballistic missile retaliation. Tracker accounts also say northern Israeli cities such as Kiryat Shmona and Safed opened public shelters, and that Iran is repositioning missile launchers in its west. However, Israeli outlet Walla reported "no unusual rise" in US aircraft arrivals over the past week.

The decision of a military action or pursuit of diplomacy rests with US President Donald Trump. CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper has briefed him on options, reportedly a short, intense campaign.

President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that the United States launched strikes on Iran, as Tehran warned no one would benefit from a return to war.

It came as US voters prepared to cast their ballots in midterm elections that threaten Trump's grip on power.

But Trump played down speculation he was preparing to resume bombing Iran once the polls were out of the way.

"We seem to be getting everything we want," Trump told Britain's Financial Times newspaper on Tuesday.

"I'm ready, we're ready. We're locked and loaded if we need to go, but there may be no reason for it."

Iran's chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the Islamic republic was "ready for battle with its finger on the trigger", while Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran retained the right to "legitimate self-defence" after the strikes.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government was still trying to resolve the crisis "through dialogue" though, adding that "no one will benefit from this war" if it reignited.

Pezeshkian emphasised that the country's supreme leader had recently granted the government new powers to negotiate issues that were previously "off-limits".

Trump confirmed the strikes on Iran in an interview with Fox News, after US media reported strikes on Tehran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

"They built an anti-aircraft facility... As soon as it was completed, we hit it last night very nicely," Trump said on the "Fox & Friends" show, adding that it was a "minor attack".

Day 247: US strikes Iran's Qeshm island

Day 246: Trump threatens Iran with military action

Day 246: UAE hopes for peace, ‘braced for worst’

Day 245: Rubio says US yet to decide on new Iran strikes

Day 244: US denies Iran destroyed sea drone in Strait of Hormuz

Day 243: US fires senior army general in latest ouster: reports

Day 242: Iran discusses plan to end war and reopen Hormuz

Day 241: Iran says supreme leader met with security chief

Day 240: 'Entering new path could be considered': Iran tells US