Iran attacks dozens of vessels in Strait of Hormuz as Trump says war will end after November midterms

Iran condemned on Wednesday a resolution adopted by the United Nations atomic watchdog's board of governors which referred the Islamic republic to the UN Security Council over its nuclear "non-compliance".

"This resolution was passed under political pressure from the US and its allies and in our view has no basis and will not bring any results," Iran's representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, told state television.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen on Wednesday said the Iran-backed Houthis had launched fresh attacks on the kingdom's south, after the rebels launched an offensive seeking to control the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The coalition's spokesman Turki al-Maliki said in a statement the Houthis had "launched several ballistic missiles and drones toward the cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha, and Jizan", without mentioning any casualties as a result of the attacks.

Iran said it attacked more than a dozen vessels trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, as it announced an expansion of a no-go zone outside the strategic waterway it has blockaded for months.

The fresh attacks and fighting with the United States have sent oil prices above $100 per barrel again as Tehran chokes off the strait and Washington presses a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they attacked two US vessels, eight oil tankers, and 10 "non-compliant vessels" that were trying to pass through the route crucial for oil and gas trade, Iranian state media reported.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said "several" vessels in the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf were "subject to disabling fire as part of ongoing military activity in the region".

The Gulf of Oman lies on the Indian Ocean side of the narrow Hormuz strait, a vital energy conduit that normally carries around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.

Iran's Guards also for the first time added parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea to a new "prohibited zone" on Wednesday, saying that exact coordinates will be announced later.

"If a vessel enters that area without coordination, it will be subject to our sanctions," Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi told state television.

The IAEA board of governors on Wednesday voted to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear "non-compliance" in a diplomatic move to pile pressure on the Islamic republic.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not had access to key nuclear facilities in Iran since Israel, joined by the United States, launched a 12-day conflict in June 2025 that included strikes on nuclear sites.

Nuclear facilities have also been hit in the latest war, which erupted on February 28, and the IAEA has repeatedly urged to be given access.

The resolution was adopted by 23 votes in favour, three votes against and eight abstentions, two diplomats told AFP. Russia, China and Niger voted against it.

It "requests the (IAEA) director general to report" Iran to the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The resolution, submitted by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, marks the first time Iran has been referred to the Security Council in 20 years for failing to comply with its nuclear reporting obligations.

The move is seen as largely symbolic as Iran allies China and Russia hold power to veto any sanctions against Tehran.

Syria condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's entry into its territory after he visited Israeli troops stationed in southern Syria on Wednesday, calling the move "provocative and a blatant violation" of its sovereignty.

"The Syrian Arab Republic strongly condemns the illegal entry of Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into Syrian territory and his tour of Mount Hermon, in a provocative move and a blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and of international law," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday predicted that the war with Iran will end "immediately after" the U.S. midterm elections in November because Tehran was trying to influence the vote but would not be able to hold out more in the face of U.S. economic pressure.

"I think war is going to end immediately after the election because they can't hold out any longer. They're desperate to try and affect the election," he told reporters before departing for the Republican National Convention in Dallas.

Trump's war with Iran has recently entered its seventh month with no immediate end in sight. On Wednesday, Iran said it attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. sank five Iranian oil tankers. The renewed fighting sent the price of oil surging with benchmark Brent crude future breaching $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

Trump's approval ratings recently sank to a record low due to frustration from voters over the Iran war and deepening cost-of-living crisis. Midterm elections, due to be held on November 3 this year, are typically a referendum on the occupant of the White House.

Oil prices would also come down right after the election, Trump said on Wednesday, once the war is over, while acknowledging diplomatic talks are still a possibility but not preferred.

"Yes, a negotiation could possible happen, but it's not something we're looking at," Trump said.