Tanker hits a mine east of Hormuz as CENTCOM rejects Iranian claims that US forces have left the strait

Iran’s navy said on Tuesday that an oil tanker caught fire after striking a naval mine east of the Strait of Hormuz¹. The report is the Iranian navy’s account.

US Central Command rejected a claim by the navy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that US forces had abandoned the strait^2,3. “This is FALSE,” CENTCOM posted on X, adding that US forces deployed to the Middle East “remain present and vigilant” in the Strait of Hormuz². The command denied Iranian navy claims that US warships were withdrawing^4,5.

Another ship was reported struck in the strait as Qatari and Iranian officials met in Moscow, and Iranian Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei⁸.

Why it matters to investors

The incidents keep shipping risk in the strait elevated. An oil tanker was also struck by an unknown projectile within the Strait of Hormuz on Friday while making an outbound transit, UKMTO said, as oil prices surged on the continuing attacks on ships⁷.

Both governments are making competing claims about control of the waterway. CENTCOM says US forces remain in the strait^2,4, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy says they have left³. The United States also says more than 3,000 merchant ships have crossed the strait in six months⁶, a figure that is the US military’s own.

An assessment published on Tuesday argued that the tide is beginning to turn in the battle for the strait thanks to the US military presence⁹. That view sits alongside the continued strikes on ships^1,7.

Diplomacy continued in parallel. Qatar and Iran discussed the war and the strait at a meeting in Moscow⁸.

What to watch

The first marker is whether the mine strike reported by Iran’s navy¹ is confirmed by other parties, and who laid the mine.

The second is further attacks on ships. Two incidents in the strait within days^7,8 will be watched by tanker operators and insurers.

The third is the contest of claims. CENTCOM’s rejection of the IRGC’s statement^2,5 and its figure of more than 3,000 crossings in six months⁶ are the US military’s case that the strait remains open; actual traffic through the strait will be the test of those claims and of Iran’s.