The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has dismissed a claim by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that a Panama-flagged tanker exploded after striking a sea mine in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran said the El Gaia tanker exploded after striking a sea mine in the strait over the weekend – a claim rejected by CENTCOM, which said the tanker had been hit twice over the past month.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) operates in the Mediterranean Sea Jan. 9, 2015. Cole, home-ported in Norfolk, is conducting naval operations in the U.S.