US Central Command, or CENTCOM, has rejected a claim by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that the Panama-flagged tanker El Gaia exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a naval mine.
In a statement posted on X, CENTCOM said that account was false. According to the US command, the tanker was struck by an Iranian missile last month and was disabled.
CENTCOM added that Iran attacked the same vessel again with a drone over the weekend while it was in Oman’s coastal waters. El Gaia is now being towed by a regional partner, the statement said.
The command also described the IRGC statement as a false claim and said it was another example of what it called attempts at deception and intimidation aimed at disrupting commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
