US says Iran took mine off tanker; Iran denies involvement
The US military on Friday released a video it said shows Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded limpet mine from one of the oil
tankers targeted near the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting Iran sought to remove
evidence of its involvement from the scene. Iran denies being involved,
accusing the US instead of waging an “Iranophobic campaign” against it.
The US Navy rushed to assist the stricken vessels in the
Gulf of Oman, off the coast of Iran, including one that was set ablaze Thursday
by an explosion.
The ships’ operators offered no immediate explanation on who
or what caused the damage against the Norwegian-owned MT Front Altair and the
Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous. Each was loaded with petroleum products, and
the Front Altair burned for hours, sending up a column of thick, black smoke.
While Iran has denied being involved in the attack, Tehran
previously used mines against oil tankers in 1987 and 1988 in the “Tanker War,”
when the US Navy escorted ships through the region.
The black-and-white footage, as well as still photographs
released by the US military’s Central Command on Friday, appeared to show the
limpet mine on the Kokuka Courageous.
A Revolutionary Guard patrol boat pulled alongside the ship
and removed the mine, Central Command spokesman Capt. Bill Urban said.
“The US and the international community stand ready to
defend our interests, including the freedom of navigation,” Urban said. “The
United States has no interest in engaging in a new conflict in the Middle East.
However, we will defend our interests.”
Iran earlier denied involvement via a statement from its
mission to the United Nations.
“The US economic war and terrorism against the Iranian
people as well as its massive military presence in the region have been and
continue to be the main sources of insecurity and instability in the wider Arabian
Gulf region and the most significant threat to its peace and security,” the
statement said.
Meanwhile in Tokyo, the owner of the Kokuka Courageous said
its sailors saw “flying objects” before the attack, suggesting it wasn’t
damaged by mines. Company president Yutaka Katada offered no evidence for his
claim, which contradicts the US military account.
Katada also said crew members saw an Iranian naval ship
nearby, but did not specify whether this was before or after the attacks.
The suspected attacks occurred at dawn Thursday about 40
kilometers (25 miles) off the southern coast of Iran. The Front Altair, loaded
with the flammable hydrocarbon mixture naphtha from the United Arab Emirates,
radioed for help as it caught fire. A short time later, the Kokuka Courageous,
loaded with methanol from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, also called for help.
The US Navy sent a destroyer, the USS Bainbridge, to assist,
said Cmdr. Joshua Frey, a 5th Fleet spokesman. He described the ships as being
hit in a “reported attack,” without elaborating.
Thursday’s attack resembled that of an attack in May
targeting four oil tankers off the nearby Emirati port of Fujairah. US
officials similarly accused Iran of targeting the ships with limpet mines,
which are magnetic and attach to the hulls of a ship. The mines disable, but
don’t sink, a vessel.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told journalists on
Thursday that the US assessment of Iran’s involvement was based in part on
intelligence, as well as the expertise needed for the operation. It was also
based on recent incidents in the region, which the US also blamed on Iran,
including the use of limpet mines in the Fujairah attack, he said. He also tied
Iran to a drone attack by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on a crucial
Saudi oil pipeline around the same time.
“Taken as a whole, these unprovoked attacks present a clear
threat to international peace and security, a blatant assault on the freedom of
navigation and an unacceptable campaign of escalating tension by Iran,” Pompeo
said. He didn’t elaborate and took no questions.
Iran denied being involved in the attacks last month and its
foreign minister questioned the timing of Thursday’s incidents, given that
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was meeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei in Tehran.
Pompeo noted that Abe had asked Iran to enter into talks
with Washington but Tehran “rejected” the overture.
“The supreme leader’s government then insulted Japan by
attacking a Japanese-owned oil tanker just outside Iranian waters, threatening
the lives of the entire crew, creating a maritime emergency,” Pompeo added.
At the United Nations, the Security Council held closed
consultations on the tanker incidents late Thursday at the request of the
United States but took no action.
Tensions have escalated in the Mideast as Iran appears
poised to break the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, an accord that
President Donald Trump repudiated last year. In the deal, Tehran agreed to
limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of crippling
sanctions. Now, Iran is threatening to resume enriching uranium closer to
weapons-grade levels if European nations don’t offer it new terms to the deal
by July 7.
Already, Iran says it quadrupled its production of
low-enriched uranium. Meanwhile, US sanctions have cut off opportunities for
Iran to trade its excess uranium and heavy water abroad, putting Tehran on
course to violate terms of the nuclear deal regardless.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said early Friday its military
intercepted five drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeting the
kingdom, including the Abha regional airport. The kingdom said a similar attack
Wednesday on the Abha airport wounded 26 people.
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