A fleet of tankers in the Persian Gulf, November 11, 2026. Photo courtesy of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Iran exported a single cargo of liquefied petroleum gas in October as the U.S. naval blockade cut its petroleum exports to a trickle. Tanker incidents were reported near the Strait of Hormuz on November 10 and 11, and Iran-backed Houthis fired on Saudi Arabia on both days.
United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), an advocacy group, put October exports at 15,806 barrels per day in its October Tanker Tracker, based on that single cargo. That was down from 50,789 barrels per day in September, and exports to China, Iran’s key buyer, were zero in both months. Iran loaded about 2 million barrels per day in March, according to Kpler and Vortexa estimates, before Washington reimposed the blockade on July 14. UANI recorded 956 transits through the Strait of Hormuz in October, an average of 30.8 per day, with U.S. naval forces directly protecting many of them.
Seatrade Maritime News counted eight vessels attacked by Iran in the strait and the Gulf from November 1 to 8. The Joint Maritime Information Center kept the Hormuz threat level at “severe.”
On November 10, UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a tanker was struck by a projectile of unknown origin about 19 nautical miles northeast of Limah, Oman. The tanker’s master said all crew members were safe and reported no environmental impact. That afternoon, ADNOC Logistics & Services confirmed that one of its vessels was damaged in an attack in UAE territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. On November 11, UKMTO received a report of another tanker incident in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said two tankers burned on November 10. It said one struck a naval mine and the other had attempted “an unauthorized route” while escorted by U.S. fighter jets. On November 11, the IRGC Navy said two more tankers struck mines on an unauthorized route. It was unclear whether the IRGC and UKMTO were referring to the same vessels.
The Houthis appeared to be sitting out the conflict early on before they entered Iran’s war in July. An October attack on King Khalid International Airport killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. A Houthi attack on November 8 damaged an Aramco administrative building in Riyadh. The group has vowed to continue operations deep inside Saudi territory.
Saudi air defenses intercepted another round of Houthi missiles and drones on November 10 and 11. On the first day, coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile and a cruise missile heading toward Riyadh, a ballistic missile aimed at the south, and a drone over the Eastern Province. On November 11, the coalition said it destroyed three cruise missiles headed toward the Riyadh region, two drones aimed at Mecca and southern areas, and two missiles fired toward the west.
An Aramco facility and King Khalid International Airport were among the targets the Houthis named when they claimed four operations using ballistic missiles and drones on November 10. The following day, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group struck the airport with three cruise missiles and also struck Pumping Station No. 11 in Yanbu. Saree denied targeting Mecca and said the group targets oil facilities and military bases, a line consistent with its propaganda campaign alongside Tehran. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed the Houthi claims.
The State Department ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, effective October 23, citing escalating Houthi hostilities against the kingdom.
The November strikes came three months after Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7. The agreement treats an armed attack against any one of the three countries as an attack against all three. It builds on a bilateral Saudi-Pakistan defense agreement signed in 2025.
As tanker attacks were reported in the Gulf and the Houthis fired on Saudi Arabia, France publicly accused an Iranian cyber unit of sabotaging hundreds of French retail sites. On November 10, France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs attributed cyberattacks against France to Shahid Kaveh, an offensive cyber unit affiliated with the IRGC’s Electronic Warfare and Cyber Defence Organization. French cyber authorities said the unit sabotaged refrigeration controllers at about 700 retail sites on October 11 and 12. At least 15 fires broke out. The Paris prosecutor requested international arrest warrants for three of the unit’s commanders. Iran’s government denied any role.
In Iraqi Kurdistan, President Nechirvan Barzani received an Iranian delegation on November 8. The two sides reviewed security agreements among Baghdad, Erbil and Tehran, including a 2023 pact under which Baghdad committed to preventing Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region from attacking Iran. They also agreed to expand cooperation in several areas.
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