Strait of Hormuz: record ship attacks in October and Mohsen Rezaei's admission

Attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the surrounding waterways reached their highest recorded number in October (from early October to 23 October 2026). Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who has kept a map of maritime security incidents since 2017, says 28 attacks were confirmed and reported this month.

According to the institute, 113 attacks on ships have been recorded since the war began on 28 February 2026, and most of the attacks in October took place in the strait itself. The International Maritime Organization has also recorded 120 incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East since the fighting began, and the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported 135 war-related incidents as of 16 October 2026.

Mohsen Rezaei admits targeting ships

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Islamic Republic's Supreme National Security Council, has himself admitted to the attacks, saying the regime's armed forces have on average targeted five ships a night in the Strait of Hormuz area over the past two to three months. His remarks are consistent with the IRGC's claim of attacks on seven ships in the Persian Gulf.

A review of International Maritime Organization data and ship-tracking systems shows that more than 30 supertankers, each with a capacity of about two million barrels, have been damaged, 11 of them in October alone. Greek maritime security consultancy MARISKS also reported attacks on 12 ships in the week of 5 to 11 October 2026, the highest weekly figure since the war began.

Why the attacks have increased

Analysts say the Islamic Republic is stepping up attacks to slow the return of shipping traffic before the US midterm elections in November and to keep oil prices high. Even so, daily charter rates of more than one million dollars for tankers and discounts from regional producers have persuaded shippers to accept the risk. At the same time, media outlets affiliated with the Islamic Republic's leader have threatened an attack on the Dimona reactor.

In October the Islamic Republic targeted commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz more than in any other month.