Iran's parliament confirms Mehrdad Akhlaghi as defence minister as tankers burn in Hormuz

Iran’s parliament on Sunday approved Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi as the country’s defence minister, filling a post left vacant since his predecessor was killed in US-Israeli strikes on the first day of the war in February.

“Members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly today gave vote of confidence to Mehrdad Akhlaghi,” state television said. President Masoud Pezeshkian had put him forward this month, nearly eight months after the strikes that opened the conflict.

The appointment gives Tehran a full-time defence chief at a moment when the war has shifted decisively to the sea.

Mines and fires in the strait

Hours earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said two oil tankers, each carrying about two million barrels of crude, had struck naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The first explosion set off what the Guards called a “fierce fire”, and the official news agency IRNA said the second ship was engulfed “in a massive blaze”.

IRNA said both vessels had switched off their positioning and radar systems and tried to use a route Iran had not authorised. The Guards claimed one tanker was trying to cross “with US support”, while the other was left immobilised. The names of the ships, their flags and the origin of their cargo were not disclosed.

Rear Admiral Ali Azmaei, the Guards’ naval commander, warned this week that any vessel turning off its navigation systems would be treated as “hostile”.

The trouble was not confined to Hormuz. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a tugboat near the strait had been hit by two projectiles, and that gunmen had fired on an LNG tanker off the coast of Yemen.

A choked artery

Iran took control of the strait after the war began and now demands that ships seek its permission before passing. Washington has answered with a naval blockade of Iranian oil exports. Attacks on shipping have surged over the past fortnight: last Sunday six vessels were attacked in or near the strait, the most in a single day since the war started.

The effect on oil flows has been stark. About 20.8 million barrels passed through the strait on 8 October, according to the analytics firm Kpler. By 11 October the figure had fallen to 2.9 million. Before the war, roughly a fifth of the world’s oil consumption moved through the waterway.

For India, which buys most of its crude from abroad and has seafarers on many of the ships that use the route, every new attack raises freight costs and risks for crews.

US President Donald Trump has said he expects a deal to end the war after the US midterm elections on 3 November. Asked this week about ground troops, he said: “No, I don’t see that, I don’t see it.”