● IRAN MINE ATTACKS SINK HORMUZ OIL FLOW

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said two tankers, each carrying roughly two million barrels of crude, caught fire this week after striking mines in the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command disputed Tehran's account, but the attack lands on an already battered chokepoint: oil flow through the strait, which normally carries about a fifth of global consumption, had collapsed to 2.9 million barrels on October 11 from 20.8 million barrels just three days earlier. Crude exposure through funds like $USO keeps swinging with every headline out of the Gulf, with the price reversing hour to hour between fresh attacks and hopes for a US-Iran deal.