Tanker Attack Deepens Strait of Hormuz Crisis

Two sailors are missing and 23 have been rescued after the Panama-flagged oil tanker El Gaia was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Oman. Oman's Maritime Security Centre said the vessel caught fire in its engine room and was being towed to an Omani port after being targeted 1.3 nautical miles north of the Musandam peninsula. The incident has prompted conflicting accounts. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said El Gaia struck naval mines while traveling through a restricted and unsafe route. The US military rejected that explanation, saying the tanker had been hit by an Iranian missile the previous month and by a drone over the weekend. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre separately reported that a vessel had caught fire after being struck by an unknown projectile. The incident follows a similar attack earlier in September involving the Saudi-owned tanker Sidr, in which two Filipino sailors were killed. Iran again blamed a naval mine, while Saudi authorities and maritime-security firms said the vessel was targeted by Iran. The International Maritime Organization says at least 22 seafarers have died in 79 confirmed incidents across the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East since the US and Israel's war with Iran began at the end of February. Iranian media also reported that drones targeted two fishing boats near the Iranian port of Kargan, leaving several fishermen missing. Separately, the US military said it destroyed two Iranian boats that attempted to seize an American unmanned surface vessel. The Strait, normally used for about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments, has effectively been closed amid Iranian attacks on commercial shipping and a US blockade of Iranian ports. A preliminary US-Iran agreement to reopen the waterway collapsed in June after attacks resumed. Iran continues to seek control over the strait and has targeted vessels using a southern route through Omani waters.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported that the oil tanker El Gaia exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after striking a sea mine. According to Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB, the tanker was travelling on the southern route through the waterway, an area the report said had been mined by Iran. The IRGC said the detonation caused the entire vessel to catch fire. The United States rejected Iran’s account of the incident. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said El Gaia, which was flying the Panama flag, had previously been struck by an Iranian missile in the previous month and rendered inoperable. CENTCOM alleged that Iran had subsequently attacked the tanker with a drone over the weekend while the vessel was stationary in waters off Oman. The competing accounts place the explosion within a broader period of heightened maritime and military tensions involving Iran, the United States and the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s version attributes the incident to a sea mine, while the US version characterizes it as a repeated Iranian attack involving a missile and a drone. The brief report does not provide independent confirmation of either account, nor does it state the condition or whereabouts of the tanker’s crew, the extent of any environmental damage, or the exact circumstances of the explosion. It also does not include a response from the tanker’s operator or the Omani authorities. The incident highlights the risks to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global oil transportation, amid escalating accusations and military activity in the region.

The United States has rejected a claim by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that the Panama-flagged oil tanker El Gaia struck a naval mine and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the incident was not caused by a mine, but by two separate Iranian attacks. According to CENTCOM, El Gaia was hit by an Iranian missile the previous month, leaving it inoperable. Over the weekend, while the tanker was in waters off Oman, Iran allegedly attacked it again using a drone. CENTCOM said the vessel is now being towed by a regional partner. The US military characterized the IRGC’s account as “false” and accused Iran of spreading misinformation and attempting to intimidate commercial shipping. CENTCOM linked the incident to what it described as Iran’s virtual blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important maritime corridors. The article states that Tehran imposed the blockade in March in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, which reportedly triggered the ongoing Middle East war. Iran’s state-run Fars news agency had earlier reported, citing the IRGC, that a tanker identified as El Gaia struck a naval mine in the strait, exploded, and caught fire. The vessel was also reported to have come under attack off Oman on Sunday. Thirteen of its 14 Indian crew members were rescued, while search-and-rescue efforts continued for the remaining Indian national. The competing accounts underscore escalating tensions between Iran and the United States over maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, with the tanker incident becoming another point of dispute in the broader regional conflict.

The supplied material does not contain the body of the Al Jazeera liveblog. It consists primarily of repeated advertising and promotional interface text, along with the headline: “Iran war live: CENTCOM disputes IRGC claim supertanker struck by Hormuz nav | Donald Trump News | Al Jazeera.” Consequently, the article’s detailed claims, chronology, quotations, responses from officials, and supporting evidence cannot be reliably summarized. Based on the headline alone, the live coverage appears to concern an alleged maritime incident connected to the Iran war. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly claimed that a supertanker had been struck by naval mines or another weapon in the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM, the United States Central Command, reportedly disputed that claim. The headline indicates that the disagreement between the IRGC and CENTCOM is the central development, but it does not establish what actually happened, whether a vessel was damaged, who was responsible, or whether the incident affected shipping through the waterway. The reference to Donald Trump appears to identify the broader news section or topic classification rather than provide a specific statement from Trump in the supplied text. The available content therefore supports only a limited, provisional interpretation: this was likely a breaking-news report focused on conflicting military accounts of a possible attack or mine strike involving a supertanker near Hormuz. No further conclusions should be drawn without the missing article text.