Pompeo: Iran Is To Blame For Attacks On Oil Tankers In Gulf Of Oman

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Two oil tankers came under a suspected attack Thursday near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, with one of them set ablaze, and the U.S. blamed Iran in what it called a campaign of escalating tensions in a region crucial to global energy supplies.

The U.S. Navy rushed to assist the stricken vessels in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Iran. 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.

It is the assessment of the U.S. government that Iran is responsible for today's attacks in the Gulf of Oman. 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. pic.twitter.com/cbLrWNU5S0

Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) June 13, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Secretary Pompeo","author_url":"https://twitter.com/SecPompeo","cache_age":86400,"description":"It is the assessment of the U.S. government that Iran is responsible for today's attacks in the Gulf of Oman. 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It is the assessment of the U.S. government that Iran is responsible for today's attacks in the Gulf of Oman. 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. pic.twitter.com/cbLrWNU5S0
Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) June 13, 2019

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. assessment of Irans 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 that the U.S. also blamed on Iran, including the use of limpet mines to attack four oil tankers off the nearby Emirati port of Fujairah and the bombing of an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia by Iranian-backed fighters in May, he said.

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 provided no evidence, gave no specifics about any plans and took no questions.

At the United Nations, the United States asked for closed Security Council consultations on the tanker incidents later Thursday.

Iran denied being involved in the attacks last month and its foreign minister called the timing of Thursdays incidents suspicious, 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 leaders 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.

Iran previously used mines against oil tankers in 1987 and 1988 in the Tanker War, which saw the U.S. Navy escort ships through the region. Regardless of who is responsible, the price of a barrel of benchmark Brent crude spiked as much as 4% immediately after the attack, showing how critical the region remains to the global economy.