Iran says it is in charge of security of Strait of Hormuz: state Radio
Iran said on Friday it was responsible for maintaining the
security of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, state radio reported, adding that
blaming Tehran for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman was alarming.
“We are responsible for ensuring the security of the Strait
and we have rescued the crew of those attacked tankers in the shortest possible
time,” Radio quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying.
“Obviously, accusing Iran for such a suspicious and
unfortunate incident is the simplest and the most convenient way for (US
Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo and other US officials. These accusations are
alarming.”
The United States blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers
in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday that drove up oil prices and raised concern
about a new US-Iranian confrontation.
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosions that
forced the crews to abandon ship and leave both the Norwegian-owned Front
Altair and Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous adrift in waters between Gulf Arab
states and Iran.
The blasts, south of the Strait of Hormuz, followed last
month’s sabotage attacks on vessels off the Fujairah emirate, one of the
world’s largest bunkering hubs. Iran has distanced itself from the attacks.
Almost a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the Strait
- some 17.2 million barrels per day (bpd). Consumption was about 100 million
bpd in 2017, data from analytics firm Vortexa showed.
Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to $61.69 per barrel in Asian
trade on Friday, having gained 2.2% the previous day, though at one point they
had surged as much as 4.5% in the wake of the attacks.
Iran’s key regional rival Saudi Arabia said that Riyadh was
committed to providing reliable oil supplies to global markets.
One source said the blast on the Front Altair, which caught
fire and sent a huge plume of smoke into the air, may have been caused by a
magnetic mine. The firm that chartered the Kokuka Courageous tanker said it was
hit by a suspected torpedo, but a person with knowledge of the matter said
torpedoes were not used.
The US military released a video late on Thursday that it
said showed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) removing an unexploded mine from
the side of the Japanese-owned oil tanker.
The US military’s Central Command also released photographs
showing the apparent mine, which attaches to the side of a ship magnetically,
before it was removed later in the day.
Tension between Iran and the United States has risen since
May last year, when US President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal
between Iran and major powers that aimed to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in
exchange for sanctions relief.
Iran has repeatedly warned it would block the Strait of
Hormuz if it cannot sell its oil because of US sanctions.
Tensions have increased further since Trump reimposed
sanctions on Iran and acted at the beginning of May to force Iran’s oil
customers to slash their imports to zero or face draconian US financial
sanctions.
Iran’s oil exports, its economy’s lifeblood, have dropped to
about 400,000 bpd in May from 2.5 million bpd in April last year.
Meeting on Friday on the sidelines of a regional summit in
Kyrgyzstan, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani
on Friday that China will promote steady development of ties with Iran no
matter how the situation changes, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
