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Washington: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that the United States has assessed, based on intelligence, type of weapons used and sophistication of assaults, that Iran is responsible for the attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
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He offered no concrete evidence to back up the assertion.
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“It is the assessment of the United States government that the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for the attacks that occurred in the Gulf of Oman today,” Pompeo told reporters.
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“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,” Pompeo said.
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Iran is working to disrupt the flow of oil through Strait of Hormuz, Pompeo said.
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Pompeo added he has instructed US ambassador to UN to raise Iran issue before Security Council.
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Two oil tankers were attacked on Thursday and left adrift in the Gulf of Oman. The attack drove up oil prices and stoked fears of a new confrontation between Iran and the United States.
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The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed.
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Washington accused Tehran of being behind a similar attack on May 12 on four tankers in the same area, a vital shipping route through which much of the world’s oil passes.
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Trump says neither Iran nor US ready to make a deal
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US President Donald Trump said that he appreciated the recent visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Iran to meet leaders, but that he believed it is “too soon to even think about” the United States making a deal with Tehran.
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“They are not ready, and neither are we!” Trump said in a tweet.
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Ships in Gulf region urged to take extreme caution
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Berlin: Governments and maritime agencies urged an abundance of caution Thursday for ships operating in the Arabian Gulf region after two oil tankers were damaged in suspected attacks near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
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A US defence official told CBS News that it was “highly likely Iran caused these attacks”. He dismissed an Iranian claim to have rescued the crews of both vessels in the Gulf of Oman as “patently false”. He said the USS Bainbridge picked up 21 crew members.
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Though details of the suspected attack on the ships in the Gulf of Oman of the coast of Iran were still vague, the incident comes amid growing friction between Washington and Tehran in an area already fraught with tension.
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“The shipping industry views this as an escalation of the situation, and we are just about as close to a conflict without there being an actual armed conflict, so the tensions are very high,” said Jakob P. Larsen, the head of maritime security for the shipping association BIMCO, which represents some 60 percent of the world’s merchant fleet, including owners of the two damaged tankers.
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The vessels involved have been identified as the MT Front Altair, a Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker owned by Norway-based Frontline, and Kokuka Courageous, managed by a Singapore company.
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Norway’s Foreign Ministry said it “is concerned about the situation in Oman Bay” and “this type of incident further increases tension in the region.”
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‘Exercise high care and alertness’
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In a statement, the ministry referred to advice from the Shipowners’ Association and the Norwegian Maritime Authority about sailing in the area. The Norwegian Maritime Authority had earlier issued a warning to the country’s merchant fleet, advising ships to “exercise high care and alertness in the region.”
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“Although there is no full clarity in the background for these attacks, the Norwegian Maritime Directorate’s advice is to keep a good distance to Iranian waters based on today’s event,” the agency said in a statement.
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The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by the British navy, put out an alert early Thursday urging “extreme caution” after the incident.
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“We are deeply concerned by reports of explosions and fires on vessels in the Gulf of Oman,” the agency said. “We are in contact with local authorities and partners in the region.”
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The Strait of Hormuz is the only sea passage from the Arabian Gulf to the ocean, making it one of the world’s most important sea lanes.
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Larsen said past experience is that even with increased danger, commercial shipping will continue to use the route.
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“Shippers will be cautious with taking their ships into the region, but as we’ve seen many times before when the risks are high, so are the rewards, so I think shippers will continue their trade,” he said in a telephone interview from London, where he was attending a meeting of the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee.
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“You may some sort of naval cooperation and guidance to shipping being set up which will render protection to shipping through the area, but it will depend on what the investigation shows.”