Two Oil Tankers Damaged in Gulf of Oman off the Coast of Iran

The U. S. Navy said it was providing assistance Thursday after two tankers were reportedly attacked in the Gulf of Oman. The Bahrainbased U. S. Fifth Fleet said it received distress calls from both tankers about an hour apart. Iran s staterun IRNA news agency reported Iran s navy rescued 44 crew members from the tankers, and that both vessels were on fire. The Gulf of Oman is near the strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that serves as a vital shipping lane for crude oil. Last month, the United State