Oil tanker attacked in Hormuz towed to Omani port

Oman's Maritime Security Center said on Tuesday that a crude oil tanker,

which caught fire in its engine room after being attacked in the Strait of Hormuz,

was being towed to an Omani port, with two people on board still missing.

In a statement, the center said the the Panama-flagged El Gaia or Algaya

was attacked northeast of Oman's Musandam Governorate on the southern

shore of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement Monday that

the oil tanker exploded and caught fire after striking a naval mine while

attempting to pass through a restricted zone south of the Strait of Hormuz.

The statement said that Iran had previously warned about the dangers of

"illegal shipping routes," and that the Strait of Hormuz remains under

Iran's control and is in a "blockaded state."

The United States denied Iran's account. US Central Command said in

a post Monday on social media that the Panama-flagged tanker was hit

by an Iranian missile last month and rendered inoperable. Last weekend,

when the tanker sat in Omani coastal waters, Iran again attacked it with a drone, it said.