ReportedShipping, energy & marketsStrait of Hormuz
IRGC says tanker El Gaia hit mines in Hormuz; CENTCOM says Iran struck it earlier
- Mountain Time
- Local time
- 10:42 PM in Tehran
- Where
- Strait of Hormuz
The IRGC said a supertanker it called 'Algaya' struck naval mines while crossing a restricted zone south of the strait and was engulfed in flames. CENTCOM called the claim false, saying the Panama-flagged El Gaia was disabled by an Iranian missile last month, hit again by an Iranian drone off Oman at the weekend, and was under tow.
Why it matters
Iran is using the incident to advertise its restricted zone, while Washington insists the danger comes from Iranian fire, not mines.
Sources (8)
- Haaretzhaaretz.com
- Times of Israeltimesofisrael.com
- Al Jazeeraaljazeera.com
- gCaptaingcaptain.comPublished
- Gulf Newsgulfnews.comPublished
- Israel National Newsisraelnationalnews.com
- Al Jazeera live blogaljazeera.comPublished
- Al Jazeera live blog (2)aljazeera.comPublished
Confidence: Published by a named news organization. Not yet independently confirmed. About confidence labels
Correction
- Corrected the time from 11:03 PM Tehran time, Sep 14, 2026 to 10:42 PM Tehran time, Sep 14, 2026; corrected the headline (it read "Supertanker EL GAIA catches fire after hitting naval mine in Strait of Hormuz, IRGC says"); revised the summary; revised the context note; reclassified it from shipping-incident to shipping; updated the sourcing note; merged 2 duplicate entries into this one ("Iran's IRGC Reports Oil Tanker Explosion After Mine Collision in Strait of Hormuz", "CENTCOM rejects Iran's claim that tanker El Gaia hit a naval mine in Hormuz"); added 2 sources: Al Jazeera live blog. Why and evidence