Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Monday evening that the oil tanker EL GAIA had exploded after, it claimed, striking naval mines near the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the IRGC Navy Command, the tanker had intended to pass “through an area closed to navigation south of the Strait of Hormuz.” Following the explosion, it said, “efforts to bring the fire under control failed, and the entire tanker is in flames.”
Iran said numerous warnings had previously been issued about the dangers of using what it described as an “illegal route.”
“The IRGC Navy states unequivocally that the Strait of Hormuz is blocked and remains under our full control,” the statement said.
The Panama-flagged vessel was last tracked on September 5 while anchored at the port of Sohar in Oman, according to the vessel-tracking website VesselFinder.
Earlier Monday, representatives from Iran and Gulf states had been expected to meet in Oman in an effort to advance a framework for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to regular tanker traffic. Shortly before the planned meeting, however, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi announced that it had been postponed “to ensure agreements.”
Oman’s Foreign Ministry said the decision was intended “to ensure appropriate conditions for constructive dialogue that advances stable understandings.”
Al Jazeera quoted a senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official as saying that “the postponement of the meeting was made at the request of certain countries in the region and was a joint decision by Tehran and Oman.”
Before the postponement, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed Al Thani held phone calls with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, who also spoke with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed.
(Photo: vesselfinder)
According to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, bin Farhan and bin Zayed discussed regional developments and “efforts to curb escalation against the backdrop of rapidly unfolding events in the region,” an apparent reference to the Houthi territorial advances.
The ministry said the two also “emphasized the importance of unifying positions and strengthening consultations between the two countries in order to support Gulf cooperation, preserve the security of Gulf states and protect their resources.”
Quiet contacts have been underway in recent months over a complex legal framework that would allow commercial traffic through the strait to return to levels closer to those seen before the war. Traffic through the waterway remains significantly below its prewar level.
Oman has led those efforts, while Gulf states have also been working to expand alternative export routes that would allow them to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Despite those efforts, countries in the region are unwilling to accept the strait’s restricted level of traffic becoming the “new normal.”