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Dubai, June 14
US President Donald Trump blamed Iran on Friday for attacks on two oil tankers at the entrance to the Gulf despite Tehran’s denials, stoking fears of a confrontation in the vital oil shipping route.
Iran earlier dismissed US charges that it was behind Thursday’s attacks that crippled two tankers.
The US military released a video on Thursday it said showed Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were behind the blasts that struck the Norwegian-owned Front Altair and the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous in the Gulf of Oman, at the mouth of the Gulf.
Iran said it was being used as a “convenient” scapegoat.
Tehran and Washington have both said they have no interest in starting a war. But this has done little to assuage concerns that the two arch foes could stumble into a conflict. Oil prices surged, reflecting the jitters, although they have since given up some of those gains.
The US said black-and-white footage it filmed from a US aircraft showed Iran’s Guards on one of their patrol boats drawing up to the Kokuka Courageous and removing an unexploded limpet mine from its hull.
The Japanese-owned tanker was being towed to a port in the UAE on Friday, after a Dutch firm said it had been appointed to salvage the ships. The second tanker, the Norwegian-owned Front Altair, was still languishing at sea. — Reuters
Cause still unclear
The cause of Thursday’s blasts remains unclear. An initial report that Kokuka Courageous was struck by torpedo was dismissed by a source familiar with the issue. The owner of the tanker that carried methanol later said it was hit by two ‘flying objects’.
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