Saudi Arabia backs US charge Iran behind Gulf of Oman tanker attacks

The US Thursday blamed Iran for attacks in two tankers in the Gulf of Oman as Arab officials highlighted similarities with operations carried out by Tehran’s proxy forces in the region. 

The attacks on the ships are part of a “campaign” of “escalating tension” by Iran and a threat to international peace and security, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

“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,” Pompeo said. “This assessment is based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the operation, recent similar Iranian attacks on shipping, and the fact that no proxy group operating in the area has the resources and proficiency to act with such a high degree of sophistication.”

"We have no reason to disagree with the secretary of state. We agree with him," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN. "Iran has a history of doing this." 

Also on Thursday, senior US officials said they do not believe the threat from Iran is over.

Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, the officials said the US photographed an unexploded mine on the side of one of the tankers, which led to the assessment that Iran was responsible for the attack. The photograph is expected to be made public later Thursday.

The officials say the US will reevaluate its presence in the region. They advise that a program to provide military escorts of merchant ships under consideration.

Dr. Theodore Karasik, senior adviser at Gulf State Analytics in Washington, DC, said the leadership in Tehran may be fracturing under economic pressure from the US, with supreme leader Ali Khamenei losing control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). “Iran is continuing to lash out because of its inability to deal with the sanctions,” he said.

The Front Altair and the Kokuka Courageous were hit by explosions shortly after passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the narrow passage at the entrance to the Arabian Gulf, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.

In July 2018, two Saudi Arabian oil tankers were attacked in the Bab Al-Mandeb strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen. The Arab military coalition supporting the Yemeni government blamed the Iran-backed Houthi militia for that attack.

Thursday’s attacks in the Gulf of Oman are a “major escalation,” coalition spokesman Col. Turki Al-Maliki said. “From my perspective ... we can connect it to the Houthi attacks at Bab Al-Mandeb.”

Donald Trump, who has made economic and military pressure against Iran a cornerstone of his foreign policy, was being briefed Thursday about the tanker attack.