Breaking, November 14, 2026 | Mines and Tanker Blasts Hit Hormuz as Trump Says "We Don't Need a Deal With Iran"

🔵 The war between Iran and the United States has settled into what analysts call "no war, no peace." Large-scale air strikes have paused, but over the past few days a string of explosions has hit tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran says it has targeted a ＵＳ military site in the Gulf for the first time in about two months. Meanwhile, President Trump has posted that "we don't need a deal with Iran" and says he has reassigned Vice President ＪＤ Vance, the lead negotiator, to domestic issues. This report pulls together the latest from major international outlets and official ＵＳ and Iranian statements.

🔵 How to read the credibility labels: 🟢 = confirmed by multiple sources / 🟡 = single source or an official claim by a party to the conflict / 🔵 = editorial analysis. Labels appear at the start of each paragraph. Dates follow local reporting; where times are known, Japan Standard Time (ＪＳＴ) is added.

Key Points

Strait of Hormuz: Mines and Tanker Explosions Day After Day

🟡 The navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (ＩＲＧＣ) said on November 13 (ＪＳＴ: 2026/11/13) that a liquefied natural gas carrier struck a naval mine east of the Strait of Hormuz and suffered a "powerful explosion." According to the ＩＲＧＣ, the ship ignored warnings, used an "unauthorized route" and was "under the protection of American fighter jets." The vessel's name and the extent of the damage were not disclosed.

🟡 Iran had reported explosions on four tankers in the strait the previous day, November 12, making this the fifth in two days. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the four incidents. Iran also claims at least 12 tankers have been hit over the past 12 days.

🟢 Independent figures point to the same risk. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy counted at least 10 ships hit in the first 10 days of November, and Rigzone reports that attacks on commercial ships in the Gulf region reached 36 in October, the highest monthly total since the war began. Maritime agencies still advise against transit, and insurers have sharply raised premiums or refused cover.

🟡 ＵＳ Central Command (ＣＥＮＴＣＯＭ) says at least 4,000 ships have crossed the strait with ＵＳ help, carrying more than 1.7 billion barrels of crude. Both Washington and Tehran claim to control the waterway.

🟡 Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on November 11 (ＪＳＴ: 2026/11/11-12) that the strait will "never return" to its pre-war status, when ships passed freely and without tolls.

🔵 The strait lies within Iranian and Omani territorial waters and normally carries about one-fifth of the world's oil. Iran has effectively closed it since early March, right after ＵＳ-Israeli strikes began. The latest "mine" announcements read largely as a warning to ships that try to push through.

ＵＳ-Iran Clashes: A Radar in Bahrain and a Strike on Sirik

🟡 Iran's state news agency ＩＲＮＡ reported late on November 12 (local time) that Sirik, in Hormozgan province near the Strait of Hormuz, was hit by an "enemy" military strike. It did not name the attacker or give damage details. According to Al Jazeera, Iran describes it as a ＵＳ air attack on a telecommunications tower.

🟢 On November 13 (ＪＳＴ: 2026/11/13), the ＩＲＧＣ said it destroyed a ＵＳ early-warning radar in Bahrain in retaliation. ＣＥＮＴＣＯＭ denied this, saying it shot down two one-way attack drones launched toward Bahrain and that no one was injured. ＣＮＮ reported it was the first time in about two months that Iran had targeted a ＵＳ military site in the Gulf.

🟡 Iran also claims it shot down a ＵＳ drone off the coast of Sirik. There has been no ＵＳ confirmation.

🟡 Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned on November 11 that a ＵＳ attack on a key Iranian site would trigger strikes on all ＵＳ bases, including those in Europe, and said any new war would last "no more than four to five days."

🟢 On the nuclear file, Iran reportedly told the International Atomic Energy Agency (ＩＡＥＡ) that inspections cannot resume while the ＵＳ president makes "persistent, explicit, and public threats." The ＩＡＥＡ has urged Iran to take steps to allow inspectors back in.

President Trump's Statements and Social Media Posts

🟢 On the morning of November 12 (ＵＳ Eastern time; ＪＳＴ: 2026/11/12 night), President Trump posted on Truth Social: "We don't need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed." In the same post he said he had asked Vice President Vance, who had led the negotiations, to focus on crime and corruption in Democrat-run cities and states.

🟢 Trump also wrote: "We've got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we've got their Strait!" A White House official declined to say whether talks had ended, saying "President Trump holds all the cards" and pointing to the naval blockade and economic pressure.

🟢 Trump said Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the ＵＡＥ and Bahrain had asked him to hold off on renewed large-scale strikes. Asked whether he would have attacked anyway, he replied, "Yes, I would," adding that the ＵＳ could destroy Iran's energy infrastructure, bridges and factories within three days.

🟢 In a Salem News Channel interview with Hugh Hewitt on November 12, Trump warned that Iran would "not exist very long" if it assassinated a senior ＵＳ official. This followed reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had moved to a military base over Iran-linked threats. Bessent told ＣＮＢＣ on November 13 that he would not be intimidated. Iran denies plotting to kill ＵＳ officials.

🟢 In a Veterans Day speech at Arlington on November 11 (ＪＳＴ: 2026/11/12 early morning), Trump said "America did not start a war with Iran," claimed the ＵＳ had "won," and said the war would end "soon," without giving a timeline. He acknowledged that 18 ＵＳ service members have died from hostile action since February. The Washington Post reported on November 13 that Trump separately and falsely claimed "nobody's been killed" in the war "in the last five months."

🟡 Secretary of State Marco Rubio says economic pressure is working, making large-scale military operations unnecessary. At the Ｇ７ foreign ministers' meeting on November 11, he said Iran's economy "continues to collapse" and predicted conditions would worsen over the next one to three months.

Peace Talks: "The Ball Is Now in the American Court"

🟡 Speaker Ghalibaf says Tehran sent a seven-point proposal on a ceasefire and reopening of the strait through Qatari mediators and is waiting for a ＵＳ response. "The ball is now in the American court," he said.

🟡 According to Al Jazeera, Iran's main conditions are: an end to the ＵＳ naval blockade of its ports, the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen funds, an end to fighting on all fronts, and an explicit announcement that the war is over. The ＵＳ has previously insisted on a nuclear agreement first, while Iran wants nuclear talks handled separately.

🟢 The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at ending the war, but it collapsed over disagreements about control of the strait. That memorandum grew out of talks Vance led in Islamabad in April. On November 4, after Republican losses in the midterm elections, Vance cited the war as one reason, which analysts saw as distancing himself from Trump.

🟡 However, The Wall Street Journal reports that Vance is considering face-to-face talks with Rezaei and that Trump has authorized him to negotiate. No date has been set. This conflicts with Trump's post reassigning Vance, so the administration's direction remains unclear.

🟡 Regional mediation continues. Turkey and Qatar signed a defense pact on November 13, and President Erdogan said Turkey would keep working with Doha to prevent a renewed war. Axios reported that the director of Israel's Mossad is in Washington.

🔵 Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi of Chatham House describes the situation as "no war, no peace," unlikely to change soon but possibly shifting within weeks. Washington is betting that economic pressure makes a deal unnecessary; Tehran is betting that its grip on the strait gives it leverage. Both sides appear to believe time is on their side.

Houthis and Saudi Arabia: The Red Sea and the East-West Pipeline

🟡 Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on November 13 that they fired two ballistic missiles at "concentrations of Saudi forces" in Al-Tuwal, Jazan province. Saudi civil defense issued alerts in Jazan that day and later an all-clear. Reuters said it could not determine whether the alerts were linked to the Houthi attack.

🟡 On November 12 the Houthis also claimed attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Pumping Station No. 7 on the East-West Pipeline, and an oil facility in the Red Sea port of Yanbu. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted drones over the Eastern Province and Riyadh, and on November 11 intercepted three cruise missiles aimed at Riyadh and two drones heading toward Mecca and southern Saudi Arabia.

🟢 On November 8, a Saudi Aramco building in Riyadh was confirmed damaged in an attack.

🔵 The East-West Pipeline is now a lifeline for Saudi Arabia. With Hormuz largely unusable, Riyadh is rerouting about 4 million barrels per day of crude to Yanbu on the Red Sea, roughly 4% of global supply. By targeting it, the Houthis appear to be pressuring the kingdom's bypass route on top of Iran's hold on Hormuz.

🟢 On November 12, the ＵＮ Security Council unanimously renewed sanctions on the Houthis, extending asset freezes and travel bans to November 14, 2027, and condemned their cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia. Fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition has intensified since the Houthis advanced toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in September.

🟡 China is also involved. A Chinese envoy called for dialogue and de-escalation in Yemen and the Red Sea on November 13, and the Saudi foreign minister and the Chinese envoy reportedly discussed Houthi attacks and maritime security.

The ＥＵ, the ＵＫ and the Ｇ７

🟢 Ｇ７ foreign ministers meeting in Paris on November 10-11 said they would keep coordinating economic and political pressure on Iran if diplomacy fails to produce a deal on its nuclear program and regional security. ＥＵ foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and the ＵＫ foreign secretary attended.

🟡 The ＥＵ is reportedly finalizing new sanctions on Iran over October cyberattacks on the cooling systems of supermarkets in several European countries. French judicial authorities have linked Iran to the attacks, and ＥＵ foreign ministers may discuss the issue on November 16.

🟢 The ＥＵ has gradually widened sanctions on ＩＲＧＣ naval units and officials over obstruction of navigation in Hormuz, and added the ＩＲＧＣ to its terrorist list in February 2026. The ＵＫ designated the ＩＲＧＣ a national security threat under its State Threats Act in July.

🔵 Kallas warned in late October of a "serious risk" of renewed ＵＳ-Iran escalation. The ＵＫ said in April it would not join the ＵＳ naval blockade. Europe is keeping up pressure on Tehran while avoiding direct involvement in the war itself.

Inside Iran: Economy, Society and Politics

🟡 According to the Statistical Center of Iran, year-on-year inflation reached nearly 89% in the Iranian calendar month ending October 22. Food coupons continue, but rising prices are eroding their value, and the government has signaled gradual cuts to fuel and energy subsidies.

🟡 The ＵＳ naval blockade is the main squeeze. It began on April 13, was lifted under the June memorandum, and a second blockade has been in place since July 14. The ＵＳ Treasury says Iran has loaded no oil onto vessels since August 25. Kpler says Iranian production has fallen below 2 million barrels per day, from 3.45 million in January, and that payments from Chinese buyers could dry up around mid-December.

🟡 Mohammad Ghasemi, deputy head of the Plan and Budget Organization, said on November 10: "The government must prepare for circumstances in which oil revenue reaches zero." Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on November 11 that next year's budget will prioritize inflation control through fiscal discipline and household support. Oil accounted for about one-third of planned revenue in the 2026-27 budget proposal.

🟡 President Masoud Pezeshkian has acknowledged that the "no war, no peace" situation is harmful, while officials insist there is no prospect of economic collapse. In the southeast, Baluch militant groups claimed several attacks in early November, and on November 7 Iran executed a man over an attack on a police post in Khash (reported by Iran International, an opposition-leaning outlet based abroad). A missile and drone exhibition was held on the outskirts of Tehran, signaling defiance to a domestic audience.

🔵 The opening strikes in February killed many of Iran's top leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As the leadership reorganizes, whether economic decline turns into social unrest is a key question, and it is likely one reason Washington prefers economic pressure to negotiations.

Oil Prices: Brent at $95, ＷＴＩ at $88, Second Weekly Decline

🟢 In New York trading on November 13 (ＪＳＴ: early 2026/11/14), Brent crude futures settled at $95.84 a barrel, up 2 cents, while ＷＴＩ settled at $88.56, down 0.2%. On November 12, Brent had jumped 3.3% and ＷＴＩ 2.6% after Trump's "no deal" post. Brent fell from $98.32 the previous Friday, its second straight weekly decline.

🟢 The main drag is recovering Middle East exports. The International Energy Agency (ＩＥＡ) expects the oil market to return to surplus this quarter for the first time since the war began. Rising ＵＳ crude and product inventories, and Washington's signals that it favors economic pressure over military action, also weighed on prices.

🟢 On the upside, more attacks on ships in Hormuz and reports of the Mossad chief's visit to Washington briefly pushed prices higher during Friday's session.

🔵 Some overseas price sites were still showing stale late-October quotes near $100. This report uses figures cross-checked against several real-time quotes and exchange settlements. Prices move quickly, so please re-check the latest levels at the time of publication.

What to Watch

🔵 For now, a war of endurance over the blockade and the Strait of Hormuz looks more likely than a return to large-scale air strikes. But a single damaged ship or an attack on a senior official could change the picture quickly. We will keep following official statements and on-the-ground reporting from both sides.

Sources

- Al Jazeera: Why is Trump saying 'no deal necessary' with Iran? (Nov 13)
- Al Jazeera: Hormuz will 'never return' to pre-war status, Ghalibaf says (Nov 11)
- Al Jazeera: Can Tehran survive a 'zero oil' budget? (Nov 11)
- Al Jazeera: ＵＳ denies Iran's claim it hit radar sites in Bahrain (Nov 13)
- Fox News: Live updates (Nov 13)
- ＡＢＣ News: Live updates
- ＣＮＮ: Iran targets ＵＳ military site in Gulf for first time in two months (Nov 13)
- The Washington Post: Trump's casualty claim (Nov 13)
- Reuters: Houthis say they fired missiles at Saudi forces in Jazan (Nov 13)
- Rigzone: Crude fluctuates as Iran tensions persist (Nov 13)
- Oilprice.com: Oil price charts
- Khaleej Times: Live updates (Nov 13)
- Gulf News: Strike hits Sirik; Houthis claim pipeline attack (Nov 13)
- Iran International: ＩＲＧＣ says gas carrier struck mine (Nov 13)
- Iran International: Ｇ７ warns Iran (Nov 11)
- ＣＧＴＮ: Chinese envoy calls for de-escalation in Yemen, Red Sea (Nov 13)

Note: Official Iranian statements (ＩＲＧＣ, ＩＲＮＡ and others) were verified through international media reports. To comply with the site's server rules, uppercase abbreviations in this article are shown in full-width characters.