War News Nov. 5: Iran Claims Hormuz Tanker Fires as Yemen, Sudan Fronts Flare

Satellite view of the Strait of Hormuz (file photo). Photo: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said two oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after trying to use what it called “unauthorised routes,” Reuters reported early Thursday, Nov. 5. The claim, which is unverified, came a day after Iran’s supreme leader warned that U.S. hostility will not end with this week’s midterm elections, as fighting also flared in Yemen and Sudan and Gaza’s medical crisis drew new scrutiny.

Strait of Hormuz, Nov. 5: Iran claims tanker fires

According to the IRGC account reported by Reuters, one tanker struck a mine while crossing a passage south of the strait. A supertanker then caught fire while leaving the route in the eastern part of the waterway, and a tugboat that went to fight that blaze also burned. Reuters did not report casualties, and no ship owner had confirmed the account in the reports reviewed.

Middle East Eye reported that the IRGC statement accused Washington of pushing ships into mined passages and raising insurance costs, and tied the incidents to Democrats’ midterm gains. TBR tracks shipping, oil prices and casualties on its Iran War Tracker, part of our wider war news coverage.

Iran and the U.S. after the midterms

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written statement that anyone expecting a U.S. policy shift is “seriously mistaken,” Al Jazeera reported. He said Iran’s control of Hormuz had undercut the idea of U.S. invincibility and warned that any renewed attack would bring a wider response. Parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said U.S. voters had rejected the war. An adviser to the IRGC commander said Iran would hit targets beyond U.S. bases if Gulf states such as the UAE and Bahrain let Washington launch attacks from their soil.

President Trump acknowledged that the war and higher prices hurt Republicans but said the decision was justified. “I did the right thing. I would have done it again,” he told The Wall Street Journal, according to Al Jazeera. Vice President JD Vance wrote that the war was the reason Republicans lost, Al Jazeera reported. Democrats will control the incoming Congress. The U.S.-Israel war on Iran began in February.

Yemen: government offensive in al-Jawf, missile alerts in Saudi Arabia

Yemen’s government forces said Wednesday they pushed deeper into the al-Dahida mountain range in eastern al-Jawf province, storming Houthi positions with air and drone support, Al Jazeera reported. The gains are part of “Operation Dawn of Yemen,” now in its second month. These are claims by a party to the fighting.

• A Houthi ballistic missile hit a military training camp in al-Dhalea, killing eight people and wounding more than 15, a military source said. No official toll was released.
• Houthi-affiliated media reported Saudi-backed air strikes in al-Bayda and Taiz and said civilians were killed. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree denied attacking Saudi territory.
• Yemen’s interior minister said 14 IRGC members and seven Hezbollah members were directing Houthi operations. Hezbollah called the claim baseless.

On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile headed toward the Medina region, Anadolu Agency reported. It gave no details on damage, and the Houthis had not commented.

Sudan: drone war spills into a dispute with Ethiopia

Sudan’s government says 70 attacks using 187 one-way attack drones were launched from Ethiopian territory between February and October, including 28 attacks with 97 drones in October alone, Al Jazeera reported. Ethiopia denies backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which have fought Sudan’s army since April 2023, and accuses Khartoum of backing Tigray-linked rebels. A Sudanese report says drone attacks killed 176 soldiers and 484 civilians from Feb. 15 to Oct. 27. “The mutual accusations are many and almost daily,” a Sudanese border specialist said. TBR covered the latest consulate closure on Nov. 5.

Gaza, Syria and Ukraine

The Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said 1,134 children in Gaza have had limbs amputated because of Israeli attacks, and that Israeli limits on travel and imports block many from getting prosthetics, Al Jazeera reported. The article included no Israeli response. The WHO said only about 500 of 2,300 amputees assessed received permanent prosthetics.

In Riyadh, Syria and Saudi Arabia signed a defense cooperation agreement, with undisclosed terms, and more than $403 million in Saudi concessional loans, Al Jazeera reported.

In Ukraine, the Ryazan region’s governor said more than 200 Ukrainian drones attacked overnight, Al Jazeera reported. Today’s full update is here, and running totals are on TBR’s Ukraine War Tracker.

Developments as of Thursday morning, Nov. 5, 2026, Eastern time. Claims by parties to these conflicts could not be independently verified.

Sources

• Reuters (via Yahoo News): Iran’s IRGC says two tankers and tugboat caught fire in Strait of Hormuz
• Middle East Eye: Iran’s IRGC says two tankers, tugboat were ablaze in Hormuz Strait
• Al Jazeera: Iran’s Khamenei warns Trump loss at polls won’t end US hostility
• Al Jazeera: ‘No regrets’: Trump says Iran war justified despite polls drubbing
• Al Jazeera: Yemeni government forces claim control of strategic al-Jawf mountain range
• Anadolu Agency: Saudi-led coalition says it intercepts ballistic missile headed toward Medina region
• Al Jazeera: Deadly RSF drone attacks reveal deep divisions between Sudan and Ethiopia
• Al Jazeera: Israel restricting treatment for 1,100 child amputees in Gaza: NGO
• Al Jazeera: Syria, Saudi Arabia sign defence cooperation deal, agree $403m in loans
• Al Jazeera: Russia says it hit Ukrainian postal hub and ship as Ukraine strikes Ryazan