Iran attacks Gulf of Oman to bolster its diplomacy

Mahmoud Mohammadi

Iran has rejected US accusations of attacking two oil tankers at the entrance to the Gulf of Oman. However, US President Donald Trump has reiterated the accusation on Friday blaming Tehran for the attack on the two oil tankers.

President Trump has made it clear that any move to block the Strait of Hormuz, which is used by Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, will not last for long. “I’m ready when they are. Whenever they’re ready, it’s O.K. In the meantime, I’m in no rush,” Trump told Fox News.

President Trump pointed the finger at Tehran Friday for this week’s attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman, after the US Navy released video purportedly showing an Iranian vessel removing an unexploded mine that had been attached to one of the tankers.

This week’s attacks were a step beyond the sabotage of four other tankers a month ago.

The US has blamed Iran for what it described as an attack with limpet mines on the two tankers, pointing to black-and-white footage it captured that American officials describe as Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops removing an unexploded mine from the Kokuka Courageous.

The world cannot afford a major confrontation in the Gulf, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Thursday.

“There is always the possibility that somebody is trying to blame the Iranians,” said Jon Alterman of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“But there is the greater likelihood that this represents an effort to bolster Iranian diplomacy by creating a perceived international urgency to have the United States and Iran talk.”