Hours after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iran for a pair of attacks on two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz early Thursday morning, a military spokesman released a video, photos, and a timeline purporting to show Iranian boats near the ships immediately after the attacks.
According to Capt. Bill Urban, U.S. Central Command’s top spokesman, the video shows men aboard an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps military patrol boat returning to one of the abandoned tankers, the M/T Kokuka Courageous, and removing an unexploded mine from its damaged hull.
Pompeo spoke for less than five minutes at the State Department on Thursday afternoon and at the time provided no immediate evidence for the assessment, which he said was 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.” His statement was met with immediate skepticism from some administration critics.
Roughly seven hours later, Urban released the imagery and a statement. Distress signals were received from the tanker Altair at 6:12 a.m. local time, and from the Kokuka Courageous about 7 a.m., he said in the statement.
“At 8:09 a.m. local time a U.S. aircraft observed an IRGC Hendijan class patrol boat and multiple IRGC fast attack craft/fast inshore attack craft (FAC/FIAC) in the vicinity of the M/T Altair [one of the damaged tankers],” he said.
About 9:12 a.m., Urban said, U.S. aircrew saw those Iranians pull a raft from the water after the attack.
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4 comments:
Gulf of Tonkin
Pearl Harbor
911
Wake up folks
They’re lying again
So, in other words, you have absolutely no proof at all who did it.
Okay naysayers, now what do you say? Oh, the photos were not authentic, that this is some deception, that Iran is not capable of such treachery?
Northwest Woodsman: I somewhat agree with 6:34 concerning trust in our governments actions and motives, however, I think Iran is really a serious threat and should be neutralized as soon as possible. I’m certain their leadership could be taken out with little collateral damage. If the Iranian citizens have not succumbed to the indoctrination over the last 40 or so years, they would be happy to see the elimination of their repressive government. Besides, after all their boasting, it would be fun to watch their military be destroyed in an afternoon.
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