Crew saw ‘flying objects’ before Japanese ship attacked in Gulf, as US releases video of Iranians removing mines from vessel
- US blames Tehran for attack on two tankers and claims video shows Republican Guard were removing evidence
- Donald Trump said the incident had Iran ‘written all over it’
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. But the operator of the Kokuka Courageous said the crew saw “flying objects” before an explosion, suggesting the ship was not damaged by mines.
Each tanker was loaded with petroleum products, and the Front Altair burned for hours, sending up a column of thick, black smoke.
“It is the assessment of the United States government that the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for the attacks,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters earlier without providing any evidence. “This assessment is based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the operation, recent similar Iranian attacks on shipping, and the fact that no proxy group operating in the area has the resources and proficiency to act with such a high degree of sophistication.”
President Donald Trump on Friday said the incident had Iran “written all over it.”
“Iran did do it,” Trump said in an interview on Fox and Friends.
“You know they did it because you saw the boat,” Trump said. “I guess one of the mines didn’t explode and it’s probably got essentially Iran written all over it.”
“You saw the boat at night, successfully trying to take the mine off -- and that was exposed.”
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Iran has denied being involved in the attack, calling it an “unfounded claim” in Washington’s “Iranophobic campaign”.
The black-and-white footage appeared to show a limpet mine on the Kokuka Courageous.
A Revolutionary Guard patrol boat then pulls up and removes the mine, according to Central Command spokesman Captain Bill Urban.
“The United States has no interest in engaging in a new conflict in the Middle East,” he said. “However, we will defend our interests.”
The suspected attacks occurred at dawn on Thursday about 40km (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 after it caught fire.
Then the Kokuka Courageous, loaded with methanol from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, called for help. Its 21-member Filipino crew abandoned ship and were rescued from a lifeboat.
Iran denied involvement in 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 Persian Gulf region and the most significant threat to its peace and security,” it said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the incident involving a Japanese tanker was “suspicious” as it coincided with a meeting between Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran.
The US had “immediately jumped to make allegations against Iran - (without) a shred of factual or circumstantial evidence,” Zarif said in a tweet.
Abe was trying to defuse tensions between the US and Tehran, which have grown since the US unilaterally withdrew last year from the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at stopping Iran’s nuclear programme. Oil and banking sanctions imposed by the US on Iran have since strangled its economy.
Japan’s transport minister Keiichi Ishii said it wasn’t clear whether the incident was linked to Abe’s visit.
“We have not learned who carried out the attacks and how,” he told a news conference on Friday.
Defence minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters that the situation in the Middle East is not considered an imminent threat to Japan and he has no intention of sending the Self-Defence Force to the Strait of Hormuz region in response to the attacks.
The United Arab Emirates said that the attacks on tankers marked a dangerous escalation.
“The attack against the tankers in the Gulf of Oman is a worrying development and a dangerous escalation,” the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, tweeted after Thursday’s blasts.
China on Friday called for “dialogue” after the US said Iran was behind the suspected tanker attacks.
“We hope that all the relevant sides can properly resolve their differences and resolve the conflict through dialogue and consultations,” said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a press briefing.
“This conforms with the interests of regional countries, and also conforms with the interests of the international community,” he added.
Pompeo insisted earlier that Iran “insulted Japan” by attacking the Kokuka Courageous.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump thanked Abe for his effort, but said it was “too soon” to make a deal with Iran, saying both sides were not yet ready. Previously, he indicated he might be willing to talk to Tehran.
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Referring to the nuclear deal, Iran’s UN mission said on Thursday it was “ironic that the US, who unlawfully withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action now calls Iran to come back to negotiations and diplomacy”.
Iranian authorities have referred to “explosions” and not “attacks”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the tanker incidents could escalate into a “major confrontation” in the Gulf region, saying it is something the world cannot afford.
US sanctions target Iran’s largest petrochemical group
“I note with deep concern this morning’s security incident in the Strait of Hormuz. I strongly condemn any attack against civilian vessels,” Guterres told the UN Security Council in New York.
At the request of the US, the council was holding a closed-door discussion on the attacks on Thursday.
Crude prices climbed as much as 4 per cent after the attacks near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping artery for Gulf energy producers.
Associated Press, Reuters, Tribune News Service, Kyodo and Agence France-Presse
