Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

21 hours ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

22 hours ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

23 hours ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

1 day ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

1 day ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

1 day ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

1 day ago
US, Iran Exchange Accusations in Wake of Attacks on Oil Tankers
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
June 14, 2019

Share

The U.S. military released a video Friday it said showed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded limpet mine from one of the two oil tankers targeted near the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting Tehran wanted to hide evidence of its alleged involvement.  Iran’s president, meanwhile, assailed the Trump administration, accusing it of radicalizing the situation in the Mideast and pursuing an aggressive policy against his country.

The Japanese operator of one of the two attacked oil tankers said sailors aboard its vessel saw “flying objects” just before the attack, suggesting the tanker wasn’t damaged by mines.
Iran denied any role in Thursday’s apparent attacks, which have roiled the Persian Gulf amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over the unraveling nuclear deal with world powers. Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad, in a tweet Friday, called the accusations part of a plot by hawkish politicians in the U.S. and the region.
In addition, the Japanese operator of one of the two attacked oil tankers said sailors aboard its vessel saw “flying objects” just before the attack, suggesting the tanker wasn’t damaged by mines.
At a news conference in Tokyo, Yutaka Katada, president of Kokuka Sangyo Co, said he believed the flying objects seen by the sailors could be bullets, and denied the possibility of mines or torpedoes because the damage was above the ship’s waterline. He called reports of mine attack “false.”

‘Iran Did Do It,’ Trump Says

Katada said the crew members spotted an Iranian naval ship nearby, but did not specify whether that was before or after the attacks.
Four other oil tankers off the nearby Emirati port city of Fujairah suffered similar attacks in recent weeks, and Iranian-allied rebels from Yemen have struck U.S. ally Saudi Arabia with drones and missiles.
Iran accused Washington of waging an “Iranophobic campaign” against it, while U.S. President Donald Trump countered that the country was “a nation of terror.”
“Iran did do it,” he said of the attack, in remarks Friday morning to “Fox & Friends.”

The black-and-white U.S. video shows a small boat coming alongside the Japanese-owned tanker Kokuka Courageous hours after its crew abandoned ship, said Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for the U.S. military’s Central Command. U.S. officials separately shared photos of the vessel, which showed what they described as a conical limpet mine attached to its side.
In the video, the small boat pulls alongside Kokuka Courageous at 4:10 p.m. Thursday. A member of the crew reaches up and grabs along where the attached object could be seen in the photo. They then sail away. American officials said the boat belonged to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard

Iran’s President: U.S. Undermining Stability in Region, World

Limpet mines, which are magnetic and attach to a ship’s hull, are designed to disable a vessel without sinking it.
Analysts say Iran, if involved, wouldn’t want investigators to find an unexploded mine because they could check its serial numbers and other attributes to trace it.
On Friday, Iranian foreign minister said in a tweet that the United States “immediately jumped to make allegations against Iran-w/o a shred of factual or circumstantial evidence.”
He said the United States was trying to cover up economic terrorism, referring to sanctions the U.S. re-imposed on Iran.

 
On Thursday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani criticized the United States for walking out of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers and re-imposing sanctions on Tehran.
Rouhani says the U.S. is “using all opportunities for radicalizing the situation, which undermines the stability not only in our region but in the whole world.”
He added that America has been “carrying out an aggressive policy and posing a serious threat to regional stability.”
Trump withdrew America last year from the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran reached with world powers and recently imposed a series of sanctions now squeezing its beleaguered economy and cutting deeply into its oil exports. While Iran maintains it has nothing to do with the recent attacks, its leaders repeatedly have threatened to close the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil flows.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint on Fourth of July, Boost Holiday Patrols

DON'T MISS

July 4th Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Founding Fathers

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

DON'T MISS

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

DON'T MISS

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

DON'T MISS

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

DON'T MISS

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

DON'T MISS

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

UP NEXT

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

UP NEXT

Colombia President Recalls Ambassador to US

UP NEXT

US-Backed 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire Envisions Gradual Return of Hostages, Official Says

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

US Paves Way to Resume Ethane Exports to China Amid Trade Truce

UP NEXT

US Imposes New Sanctions Targeting Iran Oil Trade, Hezbollah, Treasury Dept Says

UP NEXT

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

UP NEXT

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

UP NEXT

From Victims to Perpetrators: Israeli Soldiers’ Nazi Comparisons and the Unfolding War Crimes in Gaza

UP NEXT

Iran Enacts Law Suspending Cooperation With UN Nuclear Watchdog

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

2 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

2 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

2 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

2 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

3 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

3 hours ago

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a massive package of tax and spending cuts into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday, ...

1 hour ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 52,592 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, morning, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
1 hour ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Tops as 2025’s Largest Wildfire in California

2 hours ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
2 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Israel Builds a Fence Around the West Bank
2 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
2 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend