Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had struck a tanker attempting to navigate an “illegal route” through the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has sought to blockade since the start of the Middle East war, according to AFP. The Guards said in a statement carried by state news agency IRNA that Iranian forces “have taken control of the administration of the strait”. They added that the LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) carrier NV Sunshine, owned by NatWit, had been struck hours earlier while attempting to transit an “illegal route” south of the Strait of Hormuz. Pentagon prepares 3-day intensive Iran strike option as Trump says no attack before midterms: NYT The Pentagon has drawn up plans for an intensive three-day military campaign against Iran, the New York Times reported on Thursday, even as President Donald Trump said Washington will not launch an attack before the November 3 midterm elections. The US military, acting on Trump's orders, has developed options to strike Iran's missile and drone arsenal, energy facilities and other military sites, The Times reported, citing US officials. Senior national security officials, led by Vice President JD Vance, discussed the plans at Camp David last Friday, with the options centring on a short, intensive campaign lasting about three days, according to people briefed on the proposal. The strikes would focus on Iran's missile and drone arsenal, much of which has been rebuilt by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) since the early phase of the war, the newspaper said. Other potential targets include Iranian energy facilities as well as IRGC command posts and headquarters. Axios separately reported that the Pentagon ordered the US Central Command (CENTCOM) several days ago to complete preparations for a possible resumption of major combat operations against Iran. The directive did not set a date for strikes, and Trump had not made a final decision, Axios said, adding that any renewed major combat operations were expected to include large-scale bombing of Iranian energy, infrastructure and nuclear targets. The military preparations come as Trump said on Thursday that the US would not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, while pointing to ongoing diplomatic efforts. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Washington and Tehran were having "productive discussions." The NYT also reported that Trump has repeatedly declined proposals in recent months to resume major combat operations against Iran, despite ordering the Pentagon to prepare new options. Three US aircraft carriers are expected to be in the Middle East in the coming weeks as part of the major military buildup, according to the newspaper. Iran's proxies must stop violent acts, EU's von der Leyen says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that Iran's proxies must stop what she described as reckless and violent acts, following attacks on Riyadh airport which she attributed to the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen. The European Union stands in full solidarity with the people of Saudi Arabia and Gulf partners, von der Leyen said, adding that attacks on civilian infrastructure were "unacceptable". US sanctions 17 vessels linked to Iran’s ‘shadow fleet’ The US Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on 17 vessels linked to Iran’s “shadow fleet,” stepping up pressure on Tehran’s petroleum exports. The department said the vessels had transported millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil, petroleum and petrochemical products to South and East Asian markets. The sanctions also targeted companies involved in the shipping network. “No enabler of Iranian sanctions evasion is safe from the full force of Treasury’s authorities,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. Among the vessels targeted was the Vanuatu-flagged Tina 5, which Treasury said had transported more than 1.5 million barrels of Iranian crude oil in August. The Comoros-flagged Sogl transported over 2 million barrels of Iranian propane and butane since September 2025, while the Cameroon-flagged Shenzen carried more than 3.5 million barrels of crude since November 2025, according to the department. The action is part of Operation Economic Outcast, launched on August 24 to restrict Iran’s access to international financial and commercial networks. Iranian president says peace talks will only succeed without ‘pressure, threats’ Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said at a regional summit in Turkmenistan that peace negotiations would only succeed without “pressure and threats”, with the months-long Middle East war locked in a stalemate, AFP reported on Friday. “Dialogue holds meaning and a chance of success only when based on mutual respect and mutual commitments, and when devoid of pressure and threat,” he said during his speech at the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit. USS Abraham Lincoln returns to San Diego after supporting Iran war The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier returned Thursday to its home port of San Diego, ending a record-setting 321-day deployment in which it took part in the US-Israeli war against Iran, according to USNI News. The carrier pulled into Naval Air Station North Island after a deployment that included 265 consecutive days at sea without a port call, a Navy record. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the ship at sea Wednesday and presented the crew with the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest decoration awarded to military units, for its role in Operation Epic Fury. Hegseth told sailors the strike group had done what “no other carrier strike group has ever done.” He rejected what he described as attempts to turn the carrier into “a symbol of dysfunction” or of low morale. Read: Information ministry rubbishes 'fake and fabricated' NYT report claiming use of PAF aircraft against Houthis The Lincoln, carrying 5,000 sailors and Marines, left San Diego last November for the Pacific. It was redirected to the Middle East after the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28. During the summer, media reports described shortages of food and basic supplies, and declining mental health and morale among the crew, including reports that two sailors tried to jump overboard. Iran says weapons production surged after aggression Iran's armed forces remain fully equipped and combat-ready against the enemy, with weapons production not only continuing but sharply increasing despite recent aggression, the Defence Ministry spokesman said, according to Press TV. ‘Hands full against the enemy’: Iran says weapons production surged after aggressionhttps://t.co/MIE7nPInMJ — Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) October 9, 2026 Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik, speaking in a special interview on Thursday, declared that “the hands of the armed forces are full” in terms of equipment, weapons, and a continuous, resilient supply chain, stressing that there is no shortage facing the enemy. He said production in the seven months following the imposed 40-day war of aggression rose 2.5 times compared with the equivalent period before the conflict. Heavy explosions in Strait of Hormuz as tankers may have hit mines: Iran’s state broadcaster Several powerful explosions were reported in the southern passage of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, possibly after oil tankers struck naval mines, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported, citing military sources. The explosions occurred minutes earlier in the southern passage of the strategic waterway, according to the broadcaster The sources said oil tankers using “unauthorised” routes may have hit mines deployed in the area. The report did not provide details about the number or identities of the tankers, possible casualties or damage. The reported explosions come amid heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has warned vessels against using routes not authorised by Tehran. Trump says comment that Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles was misinterpreted US President Donald Trump on Thursday said comments he made that Iran could "take out" California cities had ​been misinterpreted and that he was instead referring ‌to the need for people to tolerate higher gas prices. Trump made the remarks at a political rally in Nebraska on Monday as ​he spoke about Americans' wartime economic sacrifices. Read more: Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted 3 Houthi ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh, Khamis Mushait "Remember, with ​the war, it's just artificial, it's a little ⁠bit high, it's a small price to pay," ​he said then. "It's a small price to pay for ​keeping the world safe, for keeping our country safe. They could take out a city. Let 'em take out Los Angeles, ​let 'em take out San Diego. This is a ​very small price to pay, and it's going to be over ‌with ⁠very soon." California's Democratic leaders and some fellow Republicans quickly rebuked the remarks. "What I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a ​small price ​to pay ⁠for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon," Trump said in a Truth Social ​post on Thursday. "If you want to see a ​big ⁠price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles?" he ⁠continued, ​saying he loved both cities. Trump has ​shrugged off cost-of-living concerns stemming from the Iran conflict before.