Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed Monday that the oil tanker EL GAIA, which had recently docked in Oman, exploded after striking naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the Revolutionary Guards' naval command, the tanker was attempting to pass "through a prohibited shipping zone south of the Strait of Hormuz." They said that after the explosion, "efforts to control the fire failed, and the entire tanker is engulfed in flames."
"Numerous warnings have been issued in the past regarding the danger posed by this illegal route. The Revolutionary Guards Navy declares emphatically that the Strait of Hormuz is blocked and remains under our complete control," the Guards stated.
The announcement came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump asserted full freedom of movement under American warship protection, referring to energy traffic in the Persian Gulf.
"Oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. The countries of the world, who have not helped us at all, should, and will, reimburse the United States of America when this thermal flare-up ends," he declared.
The president went on to present his position regarding the possibility of diplomatic engagement with "a weakened Iranian regime." "The failing nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and desperately. I will determine whether the United States will choose to engage, a notion we are open to," he concluded.
