"A verified source has reported that a vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile. There is no reported damage or environmental impact," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported noting that the attack occurred Monday at 11:40 pm.
The Strait of Hormuz - a major energy chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies pass - has been a flashpoint since the outbreak of the war in late February, when the US and Israel launched a joint aerial campaign striking thousands of targets across Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for
spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
over six weeks.
While the warring sides reached a preliminary ceasefire in early April, followed by the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding in mid-June that established a truce and opened a window for negotiations, both sides have traded repeated rounds of strikes.
Moreover, tensions in the Strait remain elevated. A US naval blockade on Iranian ports is still in effect since mid-July, and Iran continues to assert illusory sovereignty over the key waterway, forcing commercial vessels to seek authorization for passage.
Oman’s Maritime Security Center said Tuesday that authorities were monitoring the towing of the Panama-flagged oil tanker ELGAIA to an Omani port after a fire in its engine room was extinguished.
The vessel was targeted 1.2 nautical miles northeast of Musandam Governorate. A Royal Navy of Oman ship evacuated 23 crew members, while search operations continued for two missing crew members, the center added.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said on Monday that the supertanker ELGAIA caught fire and burned after hitting a naval mine in the southern Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC added that the vessel had ignored warnings against entering the restricted area, stating that "the Strait of Hormuz is closed and remains under our intelligent control."
Meanwhile,
...back at the Senate, Tremulus continued with his speech against Varius and his cohorts, watching as his colleagues dropped off to sleep one by one...
the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday that its forces had redirected 101 commercial vessels to enforce the blockade on Iranian ports.
Iran and Gulf states, including Iraq, were scheduled to meet on Monday in Oman to discuss commercial shipping through the waterway, but the meeting has been postponed indefinitely.
"We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in our region," Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi posted on X on Sunday, in a message accompanied by the flags of Oman, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start..., Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
On Saturday, Iranian officials said a recent understanding with Oman did not mean the strategic waterway would reopen in the near future, insisting that the United States must first meet Iran’s demands.