Gas prices edged down to $4.23 per gallon and diesel to $6.33 per gallon following reports of regional peace negotiations. That relief faces headwind from claims that three oil tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz over the last 24 hours.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps reported the three tankers caught fire while transiting an unauthorized route through the strait. The AP has not independently verified the claim. Iran's navy said the vessels switched off radar and navigation systems and ignored warnings before attempting to exit through a restricted route, and that the damaged ships were abandoned off the southern coast.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center confirmed a vessel spotted another vessel on fire transiting the strait but said it did not know the crew status or damage extent. It remained unclear whether that vessel was one of the three claimed by the Revolutionary Guard.
Brent Crude remains over $114 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate over $100. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said "In the past weeks and months, the IRGC has repeatedly lied out of desperation, and today is no different" in response to Iranian claims. He did not provide details.
Iran also claims it captured a U.S. MQM-170 Outlaw drone through an "electronic warfare operation," a claim U.S. Central Command denied.