Iran · updated 4h ago · 3 min read
Iran’s IRGC Navy Says Panama-Flagged El Gaia Tanker Exploded After Striking Hormuz Mines
IRGC says Panama-flagged El Gaia exploded and caught fire after hitting mines south of Hormuz. Tanker was attempting to pass through a restricted southern route south of Hormuz.
Whether the tanker hit mines or was struck by missile/drone.
10 of 12 outlets skipped it: firefighting efforts were unsuccessful and the tanker is fully engulfed.
The Jerusalem Post was read line by line by the Watchdog: 7.9. See the score →
36outlets compared
Same story, two versions
tap a side to read it in full
Anadolu Ajansı
“CENTCOM said the El Gaia tanker "was struck by an Iranian missile last month"”Read the original ↗
Mehr News Agency
“the supertanker El Gaia hit a naval mine in south of Hormuz Strait. and exploded.”Read the original ↗
Anadolu Ajansı reports CENTCOM denies the mine claim and blames a missile and drone. PressTV repeats the IRGC mine narrative.
El Gaia, mines and missiles
The dispute centers on the Panama-flagged oil tanker El Gaia, which Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said exploded after striking naval mines while attempting to pass through a restricted area south of the Strait of Hormuz.
“was struck by an Iranian missile last month and rendered inoperable”
Anadolu Ajansı reported that the U.S. military’s Central Command rejected Iran’s claim, saying the El Gaia tanker "was struck by an Iranian missile last month and rendered inoperable" before being hit again by an Iranian drone over the weekend while off the coast of Oman.A
Reuters also reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said the tanker exploded and caught fire after colliding with mines upon passing through what it called a prohibited zone south of the Strait of Hormuz, while the U.S. Central Command immediately said the report was false.
The competing accounts were tied to the same vessel identification, with the IRGC Navy naming the ship as El Gaia and Anadolu Ajansı citing CENTCOM’s statement that it was being towed by a regional partner.
Crew reports and official language
While the IRGC Navy described the tanker as fully engulfed in flames after firefighting efforts were unsuccessful, NewsNation said Iranian media reporting cited the IRGC and described the ship as the EL GAIA sailing under the flag of Panama.
NewsNation further said the report it attributed to Reuters stated that "14 sailors" were on board, with "one was reported missing," and it added that all 14 crew members were reported to be from India.
In response, CENTCOM wrote on X/Twitter that the IRGC’s claim was false, calling it "another example of their lies and intimidation attempts" as it said the ship was struck by an Iranian missile last month and hit again by an Iranian drone.
The Jerusalem Post also reported that India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attack and said that of the 14 Indian crew aboard, "13 had been rescued" while search and rescue operations for the missing individual were ongoing.
Diplomacy postponed, shipping risk
The tanker dispute unfolded as Gulf-Iran talks were postponed, with Reuters saying Oman had been due to host a meeting on Monday with Iran and Gulf states to discuss negotiations aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi announced the meeting had been postponed.
“Oman had been due to host a meeting on Monday with Iran and Gulf states”
Reuters reported that the postponement raised concerns the Middle East conflict could spread further and threaten global oil supplies, while it also said the world’s most important oil shipping lane had been mostly shut down since the war began on February 28 as Iran threatened vessels that transit the waterway without its authority.
The same Reuters account said the IRGC had put the El Gaia on a list of 77 ships that Iran said had violated its operating protocols in Hormuz, warning they could face fines, detention or confiscation on future transits.
In parallel, Reuters reported that the International Maritime Organization has reported 79 incidents in the Strait of Hormuz since the war began that have killed 22 seafarers, underscoring the stakes described by the competing claims over what struck the El Gaia and where.