Iran launched a MISSILE at U.S. drone that was monitoring its patrol boats before attacking two tankers in the Gulf: Fears of conflict grow as new details of stand-off emerge

Iran fired a surface-to-air missile at an American drone flying over the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, but missed, military sources revealed Friday afternoon.
The launch came hours before an attack on two oil tankers that the U.S. blames on the Islamic republic.
The Pentagon routinely flies unmanned drone aircraft like the MQ-9 Reaper drone used Thursday to monitor Iran's military patrols in the Gulf.
CNN reported that the missile fell into the water harmlessly.
A U.S. official told the cable network that the drone was able to observe Iranian ships approaching the tankers. It's unclear whether the drone's operator was able to see the attack on the vessels.
The same official told CNN that in recent days an Iranian missile, fired by Houthi rebels, shot down a different U.S. Reaper drone in the Red Sea. 
President Donald Trump accused Iran on Friday of attacking the oil tankers and warned Tehran that he doesn't take the aggressive move lightly.
'Iran did do it,' Trump said on 'Fox & Friends' when during a phone interview with the morning cable news show. 

The Pentagon flew an MQ-9 Reaper drone like this one over the Gulf of Oman Friday and saw Iranian boats converging on a pair of oil tankers that wre later targeted by explosive mines; Iran fired a surface-to-air missile at the drone but missed
The Pentagon flew an MQ-9 Reaper drone like this one over the Gulf of Oman Friday and saw Iranian boats converging on a pair of oil tankers that wre later targeted by explosive mines; Iran fired a surface-to-air missile at the drone but missed
President Donald Trump has accused Iran of attacking the tankers, one of which erupted in a fireball on Thursday
President Donald Trump has accused Iran of attacking the tankers, one of which erupted in a fireball on Thursday
An oil tanker was pictured Thursday on fire in the sea of Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz after an attack that left it ablaze and adrift while sailors were evacuated
An oil tanker was pictured Thursday on fire in the sea of Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz after an attack that left it ablaze and adrift while sailors were evacuated
Military releases video 'that shows Iran recovering mine'
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The U.S. military on Friday released a video it said showed Iran's Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded limpet mine from one of the oil tankers targeted near the Strait of Hormuz
The U.S. military on Friday released a video it said showed Iran's Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded limpet mine from one of the oil tankers targeted near the Strait of Hormuz
He advised Iran's mullahs that the U.S. could see evidence of the attack, citing grainy video footage released Thursday that the American military claimed shows Iranian vessels retrieving an unexploded mine from one of the damaged ships.
'You saw the boat, one to have mines didn't explode and it has Iran written all over it. Successfully took the mine off the boat and that was exposed. They didn't want the evidence left behind. They don't know that we have things that we can detect in the dark that work very well. We have that. It was them that did it,' Trump said. 
But Trump didn't offer details when pressed on how the United States would respond.  
'We're gonna see. We're gonna see how to stop,' he said. 
'We'll see what happens. We don't take it lightly, that I can tell you,' he added.
He also argued U.S. relations were better with Iran than under former President Barack Obama and claimed Irans hadn't shouted 'death to America' lately.

UK foreign secretary warns of 'unintended catastrophic' effects 

UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned of an 'unintended catastrophe' in the Middle East as tensions ratchet up between the U.S. and Iran. 
Mr Hunt said Britain backed the U.S. in pointing the finger at Iran over Thursday's tanker explosions. 
He said Iranian involvement would be a 'deeply unwise escalation which poses a real danger to the prospects of peace and stability in the region'. 
Mr Hunt, a candidate to be Britain's next Prime Minister, told the BBC today: 'This is deeply worrying and comes at a time of already huge tension. 
'I have been in contact with (Mr) Pompeo and, while we will be making our own assessment soberly and carefully, our starting point is obviously to believe U.S. allies. 
'At the moment both sides in this dispute think that the other side doesn't want war and the risk you have is that then they do something provocative that leads to catastrophic consequences that weren't intended.
'And so it is a very dangerous situation.' 
Downing Street earlier called the suspected attacks 'completely unacceptable'. 

'I don't think they've talked the same way when President Obama signed agreement, they were saying death to America, they were having good time at his expense,' Trump said. 'They haven't screamed "Death to America" lately.'  
Trump discussed the attacks in a phone call Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The White House said Trump thanked Abe for helping facilitate talks with Iran.
Abe later condemned the attack on the tanker, which is Japanese-operated.
Abe told reporters: 'Japan adamantly condemns the act that threatened a Japanese ship, no matter who attacked.' 
On Thursday, U.S. Central Command released a video claiming to show Iran removing a mine from one of the oil tankers hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Yemen - the evidence Trump referred to in his interview.
Washington accused Iran of causing the two blasts, which left one of the vessels burning in a fireball and sparked a fresh exchange of angry rhetoric in an already tense Middle East standoff.  
The footage published by the U.S. military purports to show Iranian vessels returning to the stricken Japanese-owned tanker Kokuta Courageous and removing an unexploded limpet mine. 
Iran claimed it had sent a search and rescue team to bring the Kokuta's crew to safety, but Washington D.C. argues their real intention was to hide Iranian involvement in the blasts.   
Tehran dismissed the U.S. claims, calling them 'baseless' and accusing America of 'sabotage diplomacy' and 'Iranophobia.'
The shipping firms affected are continuing their investigations amid claims that one of the crews saw a 'flying object' before an explosion on board. 
The explosions, which forced 44 sailors on the Kokuta and the Norwegian-owned MT Front Altair to abandon ship, have also sparked fears over the world oil supply after four tankers were targeted in similar blasts last month.  
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that an independent investigation should begin to establish who was responsible.
Guterres said he was available to mediate if the parties agreed, but added that 'at the present moment we don't see a mechanism of dialogue possible to be in place.'
'It's very important to know the truth and it's very important that responsibilities are clarified,' he stold reporters. 'Obviously that can only be done if there is an independent entity that verifies those facts.' 
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (right) met in Tehran on Thursday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who on Friday condemned the attack but didn't say who he blamed for it
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (right) met in Tehran on Thursday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who on Friday condemned the attack but didn't say who he blamed for it 
Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, issued a timeline that suggested the military witnessed Iranian vessels returning to the Japanese vessel
Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, issued a timeline that suggested the military witnessed Iranian vessels returning to the Japanese vessel
'At 4:10 p.m. local time an IRGC Gashti Class patrol boat approached the M/T Kokuka Courageous and was observed and recorded removing the unexploded limpet mine' from the Courageous, Urban said
'At 4:10 p.m. local time an IRGC Gashti Class patrol boat approached the M/T Kokuka Courageous and was observed and recorded removing the unexploded limpet mine' from the Courageous, Urban said

As tension ratcheted up again in the Middle East:
  • America said that only Iran could have acted with enough 'sophistication' to carry out the attacks 
  • The U.S. dispatched a destroyer, the USS Mason, to shore up its military presence in the region
  • Iran angrily accused America of trying to 'sabotage' its talks with Japanese leader Shinzo Abe, who was in Tehran trying to defuse the crisis 
  • Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said separately that America is a 'threat to global stability'  
  • Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted drones targeting an airport, two days after the same terminal was attacked by Iran-linked Houthi rebels 
  • Britain and Saudi Arabia, both U.S. allies, condemned the apparent attacks while the UN secretary-general called for calm and China said that 'nobody wants to see war in the Gulf'
  • It was claimed that one of the tanker crews had seen a 'flying object' before an explosion
  • The price of oil rocketed on Thursday amid fears of disruption to one of the world's most important tanker routes as a result of an escalation in the region. 
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo laid out the U.S. argument at briefing at the State Department on Thursday.
'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,' he said.
'This assessment is based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to executive 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,' Pompeo noted.  
A diagram showing the U.S. and Iranian forces in the region and the location of recent attacks on oil tankers and a Saudi oil pipeline, which have escalated Middle East tensions
A diagram showing the U.S. and Iranian forces in the region and the location of recent attacks on oil tankers and a Saudi oil pipeline, which have escalated Middle East tensions 
An Iranian navy boat tries to control a fire on the crude oil tanker Front Altair in the Gulf of Oman yesterday after it was reportedly attacked with a torpedo
An Iranian navy boat tries to control a fire on the crude oil tanker Front Altair in the Gulf of Oman yesterday after it was reportedly attacked with a torpedo 
'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,' Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters at the State Department
 '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,' Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters at the State Department
Sailors aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) render aid to the crew of the M/V Kokuka Courageous in the Gulf of Oman
Sailors aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) render aid to the crew of the M/V Kokuka Courageous in the Gulf of Oman

Piracy, collisions, missiles: tankers in troubled waters 

Tankers such as those hit yesterday operate through increasingly treacherous waters, threatened by piracy, collision and politics. 
Around 60million barrels of petroleum product move each day on the seas globally, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
And around a third of this volume passes through the Straits of Hormuz, a critical shipping passage.
This waterway is a principal route for crude exports from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.  
'Blocking a chokepoint, even temporarily, can lead to substantial increases in total energy costs and world energy prices,' said EIA in 2017.
'Chokepoints also leave tankers vulnerable to theft from pirates, terrorist attacks, wars or hostilities and accidents that can lead to disastrous oil spills.'
Thursday's incidents come about a month after attacks on four ships, including three oil tankers, anchored off the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah. As with Thursday's incidents, the May attacks inflamed tensions between the United States and Iran.
Anthony Cordesman, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Iran could do damage.
Iran 'does not have to launch a major war,' Cordesman wrote in a commentary on CSIS's website. 
'It can conduct sporadic, low-level attacks that do not necessarily provoke a major US or Arab reaction but create sudden risk premiums in petroleum prices and the equivalent of a war of attrition.'
Yet another risk has been Iran's move to shut off automatic identification systems to help tankers evade US sanctions on Iranian crude, said Matt Smith of ClipperData.
AIS is used by vessel traffic services and permits ships to know if other vessels are nearby.
In January 2018, the Iranian-owned Sanchi tanker carrying 136,000 ton of light crude oil caught fire after colliding with a bulk freighter in a deadly crash.

The U.S. Central Command also released the grainy black-and-white video which it said showed an Iranian patrol boat removing the unexploded limpet mine from the Japanese ship. 
'At 4.10 p.m. local time an IRGC Gashti Class patrol boat approached the M/T Kokuka Courageous and was observed and recorded removing the unexploded limpet mine' from the Courageous, said Captain Bill Urban said. 
Britain backed Pompeo's claim as foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said the UK 'has no reason not to believe the American assessment'. 
In addition, the German government is calling for an investigation into the 'extraordinarily worrying' suspected attacks. 
Ulrike Demmer, a spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, told reporters in Berlin on Friday that a 'spiral of escalation' must be avoided. 
The U.S. has also dispatched its destroyer USS Mason to the scene to 'provide assistance' after the Navy received distress calls from the two tankers yesterday. 
Renewing Washington's threat of military action, Captain Urban said: 'The U.S. and the international community stand ready to defend our interests, including the freedom of navigation. 
'The United States has no interest in engaging in a new conflict in the Middle East. However, we will defend our interests.'  
Iran has denied being involved in the attack, calling it an 'unfounded claim' in the U.S.' 'Iranophobic campaign.'  
Foreign minister Javad Zarif said the group he calls the 'B-team' - America's John Bolton, Israel's prime minister, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - were waging 'economic terrorism' against Iran. 
Tehran accused America of trying to 'sabotage' its talks with Japanese leader Shinzo Abe, who was visiting Tehran in an effort to cool tensions.  
The Islamic Republic said yesterday it was 'suspicious' about the timing of the blasts during Abe's visit. 
His talks with Iran's supreme leader appeared to take a wrong turn yesterday as the Ayatollah said Tehran would 'never repeat' negotiations with the U.S. 
However,Abe said Khamenei assured him that Iran has no intention to produce, possess or use nuclear arms. 
One of the oil tankers burns in the Gulf of Oman yesterday following an apparent attack on the two vessels, just four weeks after similar acts of sabotage against Saudi ships renewed tensions in the Middle East
One of the oil tankers burns in the Gulf of Oman yesterday following an apparent attack on the two vessels, just four weeks after similar acts of sabotage against Saudi ships renewed tensions in the Middle East
Inferno: A fire rages on board the oil tanker MT Front Altair after it was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman yesterday, in what has been described as a torpedo attack
Inferno: A fire rages on board the oil tanker MT Front Altair after it was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman yesterday, in what has been described as a torpedo attack 
Smoke pours from the Norwegian-owned oil tanker on Thursday after it was hit by an explosion near the UAE and Iran in an apparent attack which has put the Middle East on high alert
Smoke pours from the Norwegian-owned oil tanker on Thursday after it was hit by an explosion near the UAE and Iran in an apparent attack which has put the Middle East on high alert 
The U.S. Navy rushed to assist the stricken vessels in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Iran, including one that was set ablaze Thursday by an explosion
 The U.S. Navy rushed to assist the stricken vessels in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Iran, including one that was set ablaze Thursday by an explosion

The company operating the ship, which was heading to Singapore, said the attack had caused 'damage to the ship's hull starboard side.'
The Kokuka's 21 crew were picked up by the nearby Vessel Coastal Ace, leaving the tanker adrift and empty after an engine room fire.   
One of the crew members was slightly injured in the incident and received first aid on board the Coastal Ace, while the Kokuka's methanol cargo is said to be intact.  
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the world cannot afford a major confrontation in the Persian Gulf region.
Speaking to the security council today he demanded that 'facts must be established' and said: 'I strongly condemn any attack against civilian vessels'. 
The European Union called for 'maximum restraint' to avoid a regional escalation. 
The explosions yesterday came just weeks after four oil tankers were targetred in mysterious acts of sabotage off the nearby Emirati port of Fujairah last month. 
U.S. officials similarly accused Iran of targeting the ships with limpet mines, which are magnetic and attach to the hulls of a ship, disabling the vessel without sinking it. 
Matters worsened after two pumping stations on a major Saudi oil pipeline were attacked by explosive-laden drones, halting the flow of crude along it. 
High tensions in the Middle East, and belligerent rhetoric from Washington and Tehran, have sparked fears that any sudden movement could escalate into a war. 
Last month the U.S. deployed B-52 bombers and the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to shore up its military presence in the region.
Meeting Mr Abe yesterday Iran's Ayatollah said that the U.S. 'couldn't do anything' to stop his country developing nuclear weapons. 
He also took aim at Donald Trump and said he did not believe the U.S. President's offer of 'honest negotiations'.
The U.S. Navy sent a destroyer, the USS Bainbridge (pictured), to assist, said Cmdr. Joshua Frey, a 5th Fleet spokesman. He described the ships as being hit in a 'reported attack,' without elaborating
The U.S. Navy sent a destroyer, the USS Bainbridge (pictured), to assist, said Cmdr. Joshua Frey, a 5th Fleet spokesman. He described the ships as being hit in a 'reported attack,' without elaborating
Dramatic pictures revealed the fireball which erupted on an oil tanker after it was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman
Dramatic pictures revealed the fireball which erupted on an oil tanker after it was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman

Mr Abe had warned of the danger of an 'accidental' war breaking out in the region. 
The attacks yesterday also came just hours after Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels attacked a Saudi airport, wounding 26 people.
The Saudi-led coalition which is fighting the Houthis in Yemen immediately pointed the blame at Iran, saying Tehran had equipped the rebel group with 'advanced weapons'.
Saudi officials said the attack 'proves this terrorist militia's acquisition of new special weapons' [and] the continuation of the Iranian regime's support and practice of cross-border terrorism.' 
A rebel TV network acknowledged the attack and said Houthi forces had fired a cruise missile.    
The latest crisis erupted after Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani threatened to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal with the West, which is faltering already after Donald Trump pulled out of it last year. 
Tehran has demanded that the UK, FranceGermanyChina and Russia help Iran to dodge U.S. sanctions, which were restored last year when Donald Trump quit the pact. 
Speaking last month Rouhani said Iran would ramp up nuclear enrichment if such help did not materialise.
Plume of smoke seen as fire burns on tanker in the Gulf of Oman
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Saudi Arabia intercepts new airport attack 

Saudi forces has intercepted five drones launched by Yemeni rebels linked to Iran, in a second assault on an airport in the kingdom's in two days.
The drones targeted Abha airport, where a rebel missile on Wednesday left 26 civilians wounded, according to a Saudi coalition statement. 
Responsibility for Wednesday's attack was claimed by the Houthi rebels, a Yemeni group linked to Iran. 
They are fighting against the Saudi-led coalition in a civil war which has been raging since 2015.  
The rebels, who have faced persistent coalition bombing since March 2015 have stepped up missile and drone attacks across the border in recent weeks. 
Abha is a popular summer getaway for Saudis seeking escape from the searing heat of Riyadh or Jeddah. 
The airport was operating normally today with no fights disrupted, the Saudi-led coalition added. 

But the White House condemned what it called Iran's attempted 'nuclear blackmail of Europe' and warned: 'Expect more sanctions soon. Very soon.'  
The threat also sparked a backlash from Israel, where Benjamin Netanyahu warned he would 'not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons'. 
U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said Iranian mines were almost certainly behind the May 12 attacks, but declined to provide evidence.
The UAE said last week that initial findings of a five-nation investigation indicated a state was likely behind the attacks, but added there was no evidence yet of Iranian involvement.
Donald Trump's White House has not ruled out military action against Iran, although both sides insist they do not want a war. 
A week after the May 12 attacks, President Trump warned that if Iran attacks American interests 'that will be the official end of Iran'.
Zarif retorted that 'genocidal taunts' would not 'end Iran'.
However, in an effort to cool tensions Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said there 'won't be any war' while U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. 'fundamentally does not seek any war'. 

The 2015 deal, which then-President Barack Obama helped to negotiate, saw sanctions on Iran lifted in exchange for limits on its nuclear programme.
After the U.S. withdrew from the accord it restored crippling sanctions on Iran, exacerbating a severe economic crisis.    
European powers have tried to find ways to blunt the impact of new U.S. sanctions, in the hope of persuading Tehran to continue to abide by the deal.
However, their efforts have largely failed, with all major European companies abandoning plans to do business with Iran for fear of U.S. punishment.    
Rouhani slammed European countries for seeing the U.S. as the world's 'sheriff' and said this keeps them from making 'firm decisions for their own national interests.'  
Under terms of the deal, Iran can keep a stockpile of no more than 300kg of low-enriched uranium, compared with 10,000kg of higher-enriched uranium it once had.
Washington has effectively ordered countries around the world to stop buying any Iranian oil or face sanctions of their own.   
Iran launched a MISSILE at U.S. drone that was monitoring its patrol boats before attacking two tankers in the Gulf: Fears of conflict grow as new details of stand-off emerge Iran launched a MISSILE at U.S. drone that was monitoring its patrol boats before attacking two tankers in the Gulf: Fears of conflict grow as new details of stand-off emerge Reviewed by Your Destination on June 15, 2019 Rating: 5

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