Trump Says US Doesn't Need an Iran Deal as IRGC Claims LNG Tanker Hit Mine in Hormuz

Since the US-Israeli air war on Iran began in late February, the Strait of Hormuz has been the main flashpoint. The latest claims, on Friday, Nov. 13, again put the waterway at the center of the fight.

An unnamed tanker and a disputed mine

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Friday that a ship carrying liquefied natural gas east of the strait tried to cross an "unauthorized passageway" to the south and "was hit by a naval mine and exploded violently." The IRGC did not give the vessel's name or origin. The claim has not been independently verified.

In recent weeks, Iran's armed forces have repeatedly reported fires or explosions on ships in the strait and often blamed mines. The US military says it has cleared the waterway's routes of mines. Both accounts cannot be right, and no shipping company, flag state or insurer has confirmed the incident.

Tehran has insisted since the war began that vessels get its authorization to transit the strait, and it has attacked ships that don't. Washington responded with a naval blockade of Iranian ports and military support for tankers using the route.

The mine claim follows the Guard's earlier statement that it destroyed a US early-warning radar in Bahrain, the first Iranian claim of targeting a Bahraini facility since September. The Guard described that strike as retaliation for a US attack on a telecommunications pole in the southern port of Sirik. Washington and Manama have not commented.

Trump: "We don't need a deal"

In a Thursday interview with Salem News, Trump was asked whether he would hesitate to use force to stop Iran from threatening US allies and American vessels. "No, without hesitation," he said. He claimed the US controls the Persian Gulf and the strait and that the blockade is wrecking Iran's economy.

Trump also claimed Iranian inflation has hit 301%, that Iran's military has been wiped out, that the US has not lost a soldier in five months, and that the heavy fighting lasted only about three weeks. These are his figures. He offered no source for them.

On Truth Social he wrote: "We don't need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed. We've got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we've got their Strait!" He told Vance, who had been leading the diplomacy with Iran, to shift to investigating corruption in Democratic-controlled states and cities.

In a separate interview with Stephen A. Smith, Trump said several Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, had asked him not to escalate. He said the US could destroy Iran's critical infrastructure in three days.

That is a sharp turn from earlier language. Trump has recently called the war "effectively over" and spoken of "momentum" toward ending it, and the administration's tone softened after Republicans lost the Nov. 3 midterms to Democrats, who campaigned against the war and rising energy prices. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the blockade gives Washington the upper hand and called Iran's terms for a settlement "absurd."

Tehran's answer

Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, senior spokesman for Iran's armed forces, said any US attack would draw a response ten times more intense. He was answering Trump's threat that a new strike would be five times stronger than earlier ones. Shekarchi said Iran's forces are better prepared and equipped than before June 13, 2025.

Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Wednesday that not "a single speck" of enriched uranium will leave the country. He said Iran wants it for nuclear-powered ships and submarines and has told Moscow the material stays. He also said that if US aircraft take off from a base in Europe or elsewhere to bomb Iran, Tehran will strike those bases too, and could hit islands Washington assumes are out of range.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Iran can now build about 50 ballistic missiles a month, roughly half its prewar capacity. Iran's Tasnim news agency reported Wednesday that Tehran unveiled a new underground "missile city." Iran's Assembly of Experts has meanwhile called an exit from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty an "unavoidable necessity."

Trump also warned Thursday that if Iran killed a senior American official, it would "not exist very long any longer." The remark followed an official's statement to Fox News Digital that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his family were moved from their Washington home to a military base over threats linked to Iran. The official said the threats "reached more than an advanced stage." A Treasury spokesperson said Bessent will "not be deterred by the Iranian regime's threats."

Israel and Brazil weigh in

In Israel, Netanyahu is a caretaker prime minister, and Gadi Eisenkot has been tasked with forming a government after Netanyahu's bloc lost its majority in the October election. After a Thursday security briefing involving both men, Israeli networks gave conflicting accounts. A source told Channel 12 that the intelligence would support Netanyahu's calls to resume fighting. Channel 13 reported that the IDF said there was no immediate need to strike Iran but that Israel should join renewed US attacks if Trump orders them.

Eisenkot had warned that nonurgent military action could have "devastating consequences" for Israeli democracy.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Ankara, said the bombing of Iran was carried out under "false pretexts." He warned of damage to global food and fuel prices and urged freedom of navigation in the strait.

What to watch

The two governments are describing the strait in incompatible terms. Trump says the US controls it. Tehran says it is mining and policing a passage. The unnamed LNG vessel is the test: if a shipowner, insurer or flag state confirms a casualty, the US mine-clearance claim takes a hit. If none does, the IRGC's account stays unproven. Trump has not said whether he will order the renewed strikes he keeps threatening.