2 Oil Tankers Attacked in Gulf of Oman, Fueling U.S.-Iran Conflict Fears: 'We Are Very Worried'
A pair of oil tankers were damaged on Thursday in the Gulf of Oman in a suspected attack that left one of the tanks on fire and prompted the emergency evacuation of 44 sailors, reports say.
Photos showed flames and a huge plume of smoke coming from the Norwegian-owned Front Altair ship. A source told Reuters the blast may have been caused by a magnetic mine. The firm that chartered the second, Japanese-owned tanker said they suspect it was hit by a torpedo, Reuters reported.
“[Donald Trump] has been briefed on the attack on ships in the Gulf of Oman,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said, according to Reuters. “The U.S. Government is providing assistance and will continue to assess the situation.”
Twenty-one mariners from one of the ships were rescued to a U.S. Navy destroyer while the 23 from the other vessel were reportedly taken to Iran, ABC News reported.
“U.S. Naval Forces in the region received two separate distress calls at 6:12 a.m. local (Bahrain) time and a second one at 7:00 a.m.,” said U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Josh Frey, according to ABC. “U.S. Navy ships are in the area and are rendering assistance.”
The incident comes less than a month after four tankers were damaged near the United Arab Emirates’ coast, for which the Trump administration has publicly blamed Iran, according to ABC.
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However, a U.S. official has said it is too early to determine whether Iran is responsible for Thursday’s incident, but “we’re not ruling anything out at this time,” ABC reported.
A lot of the world’s gas and oil comes from the Persian Gulf area, with much of it carried by ships that pass through the Gulf of Oman, according to the New York Times. Following Thursday’s incident, oil prices rose more than 3 percent on world markets, the Times reported.
The situation only exacerbated the conflict between the U.S. and Iran. But Iranian officials have denied involvement in any such tanker attacks and Iran’s foreign affairs minister Javad Zarif said that Thursday’s incident was likely an attempt to fuel the tensions.
“Suspicious doesn’t begin to describe what likely transpired this morning,” Zarif tweeted.
American analysts are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident and said either mines or torpedoes were used, according to the Times.
Many leaders have remained anxious about the possibility of further conflict. Last month, British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt weighed in.
“We are very worried about the risk of a conflict happening by accident with an escalation that is unintended on either side,” he said, according to the Times.
