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Trump Admin Blames Iran for Oil Tanker Attacks in Gulf
Two oil tankers were attacked Thursday near the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating tensions in the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blamed Iran for the attacks, as he did with attacks on four tankers last month near a United Arab Emirates.
“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.”
BREAKING: Sec. Pompeo says the US blames Iran for the attacks on 2 tanker ships in the Gulf of Oman today. https://t.co/oAIxR89P7b pic.twitter.com/pdWBjgqYyS
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 13, 2019
An earlier discussion on the incident is available on Ricochet’s Member Feed.
Published in Foreign Policy
The only response that will deter Iran is a use of force. Trump’s talk of reconciliation towards the Iranian regime in recent days was interpreted as a sign of weakness and may have emboldened the Iranian leadership. Iran is behind all the trouble in the Middle East. Iran is an enemy that must be defeated.
Operation Praying Mantis.
I hope Pompeo and Bolton take that to heart.
Eds,
I like Pompeo on this. He is direct. He is not over the top but just plain blunt about it. I think he’ll put Tehran in a vise and start squeezing. They deserve every turn of the crank.
Regards,
Jim
The next congressional
talkingscreaming point: “Trump is on the verge of starting World War Three by launching an unprovoked attack on an innocent nation!”Then, “Trump said a positive thing about Iran a couple years ago, so he’s to blame for all this.”
There’s always the possibility of, “That stupid Trump just prevented World War Three! Impeach him! Throw him in jail!”
Cui Bono?
I hope we have minesweepers. The Navy needs to bring ’em and sweep the Strait . . .
The navy has a saying: Every ship is a minesweeper – once.