The United States blamed Iran for the attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Allegedly the tankers drove up oil prices LCOc1 and raised concerns about a new US-Iranian confrontation, but Tehran bluntly denied the allegation.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters.”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.”
However, it accused the United States and its regional allies, which include Iranian rival Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, of “warmongering.” Iran was called on “the international community to live up to its responsibilities in preventing the reckless and dangerous policies and practices of the U.S. and its regional allies in heightening the tensions in the region.”
The British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the UK was taking the same matter “extremely seriously” and that if Iran was involved, “it is a deeply unwise escalation which poses a real danger to the prospects of peace and stability in the region.”
Concerning the same issue between the countries, U.S. Central Command said in a statement evening that “we have no interest in engaging in a new conflict in the Middle East. We will defend our interests, but a war with Iran is not in our strategic interest, nor in the best interest of the international community,” on Thursday.
Back to which the Iranian U.N. mission’s statement said: “It is ironic that the U.S. who unlawfully withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action now calls Iran to come back to negotiations and diplomacy.”
Jon Alterman of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies says, “There is always the possibility that somebody is trying to blame the Iranians.” He further added, “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.”
