(Bloomberg) -- American officials released images they said show that Iran was involved in an attack on an oil tanker near the entrance to the Persian Gulf on Thursday, one of a pair of incidents that have raised tensions between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic over the past day.
A Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps patrol boat “was observed and recorded removing the unexploded limpet mine from the Kokuka Courageous,” one of two tankers attacked on Thursday, according to Navy Captain Bill Urban of the U.S. Central Command. That was after another mine had already detonated, damaging the ship, the U.S. said.
The video and photographs showing a boat alongside the hull of a larger vessel with a hole in its side were released by Central Command along with a timeline of the episode.
It was the first evidence publicly put forward by the U.S. to support its claim -- announced earlier on Thursday by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo -- that Iran was behind the attacks. Iranian officials have rejected the accusation.
“Both vessels were in international waters in the Gulf of Oman approximately 10 nautical miles apart at the time of the distress calls,” Urban said in a statement, adding that the crew of the Courageous were rescued by a Dutch tug and later put aboard the USS Bainbridge. He said that the crew of the second tanker, the Front Altair, were put aboard a Revolutionary Guard Corp vessel.
Methanol Shipment
Global benchmark Brent crude was little changed at $61.35 a barrel during early Friday trading in Asia, holding Thursday’s 2.2% gain. The tanker attacks have provided only a relatively small boost to prices that have been hammered by a deepening trade war and swelling U.S. stockpiles.
Kokuka Sangyo, the Japanese operator of the Courageous, said it was attacked twice on Thursday, three hours apart, forcing the crew to evacuate. The tanker was carrying 25,000 tons of methanol from Saudi Arabia to Asia. Japanese public broadcaster NHK, citing Kokuka Sangyo’s chief executive officer, said the ship was hit by a shell.
The manager of the Norwegian-owned Front Altair said it was sailing in international waters when it was damaged by an explosion, and that the episode was being treated as a “hostile attack.” The ship had loaded a cargo of naphtha in Abu Dhabi and was bound for Taiwan, a company official said.
Hours before Central Command provided its evidence to back up the U.S. accusations, Pompeo pointed the blame at Iran but declined to take questions from reporters.
“The United States will defend its forces, interests and stand with our partners and allies to safeguard global commerce and regional stability,” Pompeo said, noting that Iran had previously threatened to curtail oil transport in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials denied any involvement, with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif suggesting that Iran’s enemies may have been behind the attacks and reiterating calls for a regional dialogue.
“Suspicious doesn’t begin to describe what likely transpired,” Zarif wrote on Twitter earlier on Thursday.