US intelligence proves ‘without question’ Iran behind tanker attacks

The US special representative for Iran, Brian Hook said yesterday that  US intelligence proves “without question” Iran was behind the attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Hook said that Iranian vessels operating in and around the Strait of Hormuz on June 12 and 13 approached tankers Front Altair and Kokuka Courageous before each ship suffered explosions on June 13.  “Those who have seen the intelligence all come away without any question Iran is behind these attacks,” Hook told a congressional hearing on the Trump administration’s Iran policy.

Hook added that the intelligence showed a senior Islamic Republican Guard Corps (IRGC) official confirmed that its personnel had “completed two actions.” Earlier the US Navy  displayed mine fragments and a magnet it said it had removed from one of two oil tankers, saying the mines bore a striking resemblance to Iranian ones. Addressing Iran’s involvement in Yemen, committee member Joe Wilson referred to the Houthi attack on Abha airport last week, which injured 26 people.

He asked Hook how the US planned to hold Iran accountable for such actions, given Tehran’s support for the Houthis. Hook said the US supported the right of countries like Saudi Arabia “which are on the frontlines of Iranian aggression” in their right to defend themselves when attacked, especially by the Houthi rebels. “Iran has spent hundreds of millions of dollars organising, training and equipping the Houthis to fight at a level beyond which makes any normal sense and it has prolonged and intensified the conflict,” Hook said.

The US on Monday announced the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the region because of the threat from Iran. The deployment is in addition to a 1,500-troop increase announced last month.