In the context of the US-Iran standoff, the explosion from Persian Gulf pushed tensions in this area to a climax. On 13, two tankers were attacked in this area, and one of them sank. Photos of the tanker emitting a black smoke quickly made headlines in international public opinion. Just when everyone was wondering who did it, the United States quickly held a press conference, firmly deciding that Iran was the murderer, and released the so-called evidence. Iran said that the timing of the attack on the tanker was very suspicious when Japanese Prime Minister Abe visited Iran!
June 13, two tankers were attacked in Gulf of Oman almost at the same time. The attack site is located in the waters between Iran and Oman , 40 to 45 kilometers away from the Jask Port in Iran. One of the ships was leased by Taiwan Petroleum Corporation and loaded with 75,000 tons of naphtha. It was on its way from the UAE to Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The 44 crew members on the ship were rescued by Iranian ships who rushed to the ship. Photos show an explosion occurred in the middle of the tanker's hull, with black smoke columns 4 to 500 meters high, and the tanker has lost its power to float on the sea. The tanker has now sunk. Another ship, leased by a Japanese company, loaded with 25,000 tons of methanol on Saudi , is heading to Singapore. According to Japanese media reports, at 6:45 am on the 13th, the ship was attacked from the rear, and there were traces of shell-like breakdown on the outer plate of the hull. It was attacked again three hours later. The ship is currently floating on the sea, and the crew has evacuated to the US destroyer .
This is the second oil tanker attack in the region in more than a month. On May 12, four merchant ships in the UAE territorial waters were attacked while preparing to enter the Persian Gulf, including two Saudi oil tankers, one Norwegian oil tanker and one UAE oil tanker. The hull was seriously damaged, but there were no harmful chemicals or fuel leaks, and the crew did not abandon the ship. The last attack, the UAE government speculated, may have been carried out in concert by special forces from a hostile country. US national security adviser Bolton believes that it is almost certain that Iran is the mastermind behind it. U.S. officials also said the attack on the 13th, the unexploded capsh-type explosive found on the hull, was the same type of explosive used in the attack last month.
Since the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement last year, relations between Iran and the United States have continued to be tense. Iran has repeatedly warned that if oil cannot be sold due to US sanctions, it will block from the Strait of Hormuz . After the attack, US Secretary of State Pompeo held a press conference to play photos of oil tankers burning on the big screen, and name Iran to be responsible for the matter. Pompeo said the assessment was based on the intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise required to carry out operations, the recent similar attacks on shipping vessels by Iran and the fact that agents in the region did not have the resources and sophisticated techniques required to carry out such high-precision operations. Subsequently, the US Central Command released another video claiming that Iran sent a speedboat to remove unexploded mines from the attacked tanker eight hours after the attack, and this process "as soon as" was captured by the patrolling P-8 patrol aircraft's optoelectronic system. The U.S. military identified the personnel on the speedboat as the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy. After the
incident, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif said on the social networking website "Twitter" that the attack on the tanker was "very suspicious". What Zarif said was suspiciously that Japanese Prime Minister , Shinzo Abe was visiting Iran at the time of the attack, and both tankers attacked contained Japanese cargo. Zarif stressed that "the word suspicious is not enough to describe the attack." Regarding the accusations of the United States, the Iranian mission to United Nations issued a statement on the evening of the 13th saying, "Iran refuses to accept the unfounded statements of the United States and condemns it in the strongest words. The United States and its allies are inciting war."
One-third of the world's sea transportation of oil through Strait of Hormuz . After the attack, crude oil prices soared 4%. During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, the two sides fought an "oil tanker war" in the Persian Gulf, and more than 500 ships were destroyed, resulting in the interruption of oil transportation in 1984.According to the Russian Satellite Network on the 14th, the USS Mason destroyer is heading to the site of the incident. The USS Lincoln, which was originally docked at the port of Oman, has also set off, but it is not clear what plan it is to implement. There is widespread concern about the full-scale conflict that may result from misunderstandings or further provocations. UN Secretary-General Guterres html strongly condemned on the 213th, saying that the facts must be identified and the responsibilities must be clarified.
