Two sailors missing after tanker attacked in Strait of Hormuz, Oman says

Two sailors are missing and 23 others have been rescued following an attack on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, Oman says. Oman's Maritime Security Centre said the Panama-flagged El Gaia was being towed to an Omani port on Tuesday after a fire broke out in its engine room, adding that the vessel was targeted 1.

3 nautical miles (2. 4km) north of the Musandam peninsula. On Monday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the tanker hit naval mines and caught fire while passing through what they described as a restricted and unsafe route.

Earlier this month, Iran made a similar claim about an incident that killed two Filipino sailors on a Saudi-owned oil supertanker in the crucial waterway . The Revolutionary Guards said the vessel, Sidr, caught fire after hitting a naval mine.

But Saudi authorities said it was targeted by Iran and maritime security firms reported that it was hit by projectiles north of Musandam.

Also on Tuesday, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported that "enemy drones" had targeted two fishing boats in the strait overnight near the Iranian port of Kargan, about 80km (50 miles) north-east of Musandam.

Fars, which is linked to the Revolutionary Guards, cited the deputy governor of Hormozgan province as saying that several fishermen were reported missing following the incident and that a search-and-rescue operation was under way.

Iran has insisted it will not give up some measure of control over the waterway and has targeted vessels using a southern route through Omani waters that avoids its preferred route through Iranian waters. Iranian attack on Saudi tanker killed two Filipino sailors, Saudi Arabia says