25 seafarers have been killed in and around the Strait of Hormuz since February, the UN tells the Security Council
Twenty-five seafarers have been killed in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the war on Iran began in February, UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari told the Security Council on Friday, citing the International Maritime Organization's count of 134 confirmed incidents in the strait and the wider Middle East maritime area as of 11 November. October saw the highest monthly number of incidents against commercial shipping since February, and Khiari warned that shipping volumes remain below pre-war levels and the situation must not become the new normal. At the same meeting, the Gulf Cooperation Council demanded that Iran pay full compensation for its attacks on Gulf states.
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Key points
- 25 seafarers killed and 134 confirmed shipping incidents in and around Hormuz as of 11 November, on the IMO's count given to the Security Council.
- October was the worst month yet for incidents against commercial shipping since the war began in February.
- Shipping volumes remain below pre-war levels even though Gulf energy exports have largely recovered through alternative routes.
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- The Gulf states used the same meeting to demand full compensation from Iran; Iran's Guards and navy separately claimed three tankers hit mines in and around the strait — claims the US military calls false and no shipping monitor has confirmed.
What happened
The briefing was the Security Council's latest session on the maritime war that followed the US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February: commercial ships have been attacked, mined and stranded, and traffic through the strait — a chokepoint for world energy and fertiliser shipments — remains far below its pre-war level.
Khiari's figures are the first cumulative seafarer death toll for the campaign given by an international body: 25 dead, with many more injured or missing, across 134 confirmed incidents in the strait and the wider Middle East maritime area to 11 November.
Both sides, in their own words
Both sides heard. Neither believed for free. Publishing a side's version is not endorsing it — the claim checks below are where verdicts live.
Side A · The Gulf Cooperation Council
- GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi told the Council the GCC holds Iran fully responsible for thousands of missile and drone attacks on Gulf states since 28 February, and demanded full compensation and an immediate, unconditional end to the attacks.
Side B · The United Nations briefing
- Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said civilian vessels must not become targets, called for full restoration of safe and unimpeded passage, and said the present maritime arrangements remain costly, unpredictable and unsafe.
Independently verified
5 claims independently verified — listed in the claim-by-claim check below.Not yet verified
Nothing outstanding.What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The IMO figures as stated by the UN's own briefer: 134 confirmed incidents and 25 seafarers dead as of 11 November.
- The GCC's compensation demand was made on the record at the same meeting.
What we don't know yet
- Iran's full response at the session — it was not in the briefing record read in full.
- Whether Al Jazeera's wider count of 136 incidents includes cases the IMO has not confirmed — the two totals are both shown, with the confirmed figure carried as the headline number.
- Whether any of Iran's claimed mine strikes this week actually happened — no ship has been named, UKMTO had not confirmed them, and CENTCOM calls the claims false.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (7)
Why this label: The figures are the IMO's, given in Khiari's own briefing; Al Jazeera's report of the same briefing carries the same death toll of 25.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: From Khiari's briefing text; he gave no separate October incident count.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Al Jazeera's report adds a UKMTO figure putting Hormuz shipping about 65 percent below pre-war levels; that percentage is UKMTO's, reported by Al Jazeera.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The 25-death toll agrees in both; the incident total is carried here as Khiari stated it — 134 confirmed — with Al Jazeera's wider 136 figure shown as reported.
On the ladder: credible sources conflict, so we show both workings. One side's own statement is that side's position — never proof.
Why this label: The compensation demand is the GCC's position, stated by its secretary-general at the meeting; it is carried as a position, not as a finding on responsibility.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The Iranian statements are reported by Reuters; Reuters said it could not verify the navy's report, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre had not confirmed the incidents, and CENTCOM calls the mine claims false — so the strikes are carried as claimed and denied, not as fact.
On the ladder: credible sources conflict, so we show both workings. One side's own statement is that side's position — never proof.
Why this label: From Khiari's briefing; the stalled-talks position is the UN's assessment.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
Hormuz carries a large share of the world's oil, gas and fertiliser. A rising monthly incident rate nine months into the war — with crews still dying and ships still stranded — drives up energy, transport and insurance costs worldwide, and the UN says the present arrangements are costly, unpredictable and unsafe.
Background
US-Israeli strikes on Iran open the war; attacks on shipping in and around Hormuz follow.
Iran and the United States reach the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding; negotiations later stall.
Khiari briefs the Security Council: 134 confirmed incidents and 25 seafarers killed as of 11 November; the GCC demands full compensation from Iran.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Iran's navy said on Saturday that a third tanker had caught fire after striking a mine east of the Strait of Hormuz, hours after the Revolutionary Guards said two tankers had exploded on mines in the south of the strait. Neither statement named the ships; the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre had not confirmed the incidents, and US Central Command has dismissed Iran's mine claims as false.
Published in Checking state — the UN's figures are on the record from its own briefing, and the incident total reported elsewhere differs slightly, so checking continues.