Qatari mediators return to Tehran as Hormuz tankers explode

Summary

The return of Qatari mediators to Tehran and a run of tanker explosions in the Strait of Hormuz have pushed the US-Iran war into a phase where diplomacy and military pressure advance side by side before the 3 November midterm elections.⁠12

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said three oil tankers caught fire and exploded after attempting to use routes it described as unauthorised through the strait.⁠2

Separately, Iran's armed forces said four tankers struck mines and caught fire, while the US military said the day before that it had cleared the strait's main shipping route.⁠3

US President Donald Trump, speaking ahead of the midterms, said the war would end soon, but he did not explain how it would conclude.⁠45

In Japan, the Bank of Japan kept its policy rate at 1.25% and said inflation had reached its 2% target for the first time since adopting it over 13 years ago.⁠6

In Spain, a collision between two high-speed trains near Urda killed 69 people, and families of the missing are waiting for identifications as the government says it is working to identify the dead.⁠7

The next test for Iran and the United States is whether Qatari mediators can draw a reply from Tehran to Vice President JD Vance's letter, which Iran had received but had not yet answered.⁠18