Explosions aboard a pair of oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday heightened regional tensions with Iran in an already volatile showdown with Washington and sent energy prices soaring in jittery global markets.
U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo quickly blamed Tehran for what he called “a blatant assault” and cited the action as the “terror, bloodshed and extortion” that is part of Iranian strategy.
The apparent attacks, a month after four other tankers were damaged in mine explosions that the Trump administration also blamed on Iran — without providing evidence — sharply raised fears in the strategically important region that Washington might use such incidents to punish the Islamic Republic even without ironclad proof of its involvement.
Pompeo told reporters in Washington that the assessment was based on U.S. intelligence, the type of weapons used, the level of expertise needed and that none of Iran’s proxy groups, which operate in countries across the region, had the resources to carry out an apparent attack like Thursday’s.
“These attacks are a threat to international peace and security, a blatant assault on the freedom of navigation, and an unacceptable escalation of tension by Iran,” Pompeo said.
He did not elaborate, offer details or take questions in his brief appearance before reporters at the State Department.
U.S. military officials said later there was evidence the Iranians carried out the attacks using mines.
To bolster that claim, late Thursday the military released video taken by a Navy surveillance plane that it said showed a crew from an Iranian patrol boat removing an unexploded mine from the hull of the Kokura Courageous 10 hours after the ship was stricken by an explosion.
The grainy black and white video shows a small boat alongside the tanker. Several crew members are seen near the bow as one pulls a small object off the hull.
At 4:10 p.m. a patrol boat from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps approached the Kokura Courageous and “was observed and recorded removing the unexploded limpet mine,” said the statement by Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for U.S Central Command.
A limpet mine is a naval weapon that attaches to a ship with magnets.
Urban said the U.S. also observed Iranian small boats swarmed around the other damaged tanker, the Front Altair, demanding that the ship’s crew, who had been rescued by another vessel, be turned over to them.
The rescuers, from a ship called the Hyundai Dubai, “complied with the request and transferred the crew” to the Iranians, Urban said.
Hours earlier, dozens of crew members were rescued after explosions on the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous and the Front Altair, owned by Norway. Iran has denied any connection with the incident.
The suspected attack on a Japanese-owned vessel came less than a day after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a rare conciliatory visit to Tehran seeking dialogue.
The United States and its Persian Gulf allies, led by Saudi Arabia, have mounted a steady campaign of diplomatic isolation and economic punishment of Iran, which they blame for militancy in the Middle East.
Pompeo said he was instructing U.S. envoys to stress the issue in a Security Council meeting, while the United Nations’ top diplomat separately urged a return to calm.
“I strongly condemn any attack against civilian vessels. Facts must be established, and responsibilities clarified,” said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a Security Council meeting on cooperation with the Arab League.
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Posted by mancinblack on Wed, 19 Jun 2019 13:26 | #
Swinging Tehran and the image definition was still better than the CIA can manage.
That link isn’t working, so….
During a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Trump responded to questions about Iran shooting down a United States surveillance drone.CreditCreditErin Schaff/The New York Times
By Michael D. Shear, Eric Schmitt, Michael Crowley and Maggie Haberman
WASHINGTON — President Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for downing an American surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching them on Thursday night after a day of escalating tensions.
As late as 7 p.m., military and diplomatic officials were expecting a strike, after intense discussions and debate at the White House among the president’s top national security officials and congressional leaders, according to multiple senior administration officials involved in or briefed on the deliberations.
Officials said the president had initially approved attacks on a handful of Iranian targets, like radar and missile batteries.
The operation was underway in its early stages when it was called off, a senior administration official said. Planes were in the air and ships were in position, but no missiles had been fired when word came to stand down, the official said.
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Posted by Fox has Donald's ear on Wed, 26 Jun 2019 16:25 | #
June 23, 2019
Tucker Carlson Tells Trump in Private: No War With Iran 4
In the upper echelons of the Trump administration, hawkish voices on Iran predominate—most notably Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton. But as tensions between the U.S. and Iran have escalated over the last few weeks, there’s been another, far different voice in the president’s ear: that of Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
A source familiar with the conversations told The Daily Beast that, in recent weeks, the Fox News host has privately advised Trump against taking military action against Iran. And a senior administration official said that during the president’s recent conversations with the Fox primetime host, Carlson has bashed the more “hawkish members” of his administration.
While some Fox News hosts have argued that a conflict with Iran would be justified, Carlson has consistently criticized U.S. military intervention abroad, particularly in the Middle East. In recent weeks, he has questioned whether war with Iran would be “in anyone’s interest.” Last month, he publicly chided Bolton, saying he was intentionally escalating tensions, and that a potential conflict would “be like Christmas, Thanksgiving, his birthday wrapped into one.”
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Posted by Walking the streets of Iran on Thu, 27 Jun 2019 21:54 | #
Posted by Pompeo blames Tehran for "blatant assault" on Fri, 14 Jun 2019 12:45 | #