The reported assault on two “Japan-related” oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman has been marked by Iran’s foreign minister as “suspicious,” happening just as Japanese Prime Minister Abe went to Tehran for significant discussions.
Expressing his misgivings on Twitter, Javad Zarif observed that Thursday’s events on the two ships, one of which was allegedly hit by a torpedo, had happened as Abe sat down with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, for “comprehensive and friendly” debates.
He added that Tehran’s suggested national discussions directed at de-escalating conflicts in the Gulf are “essential.”
Iran said it had saved 44 passengers earlier in the day from two tankers named Front Altair and Kokuka Courageous. One of them is said to have been struck with a torpedo, but the assertion is not officially confirmed.
Details of the incidents remain unclear, but tankers are known to send distress signals to nearby ports and vessels. The ships were first reached by Iranian rescue workers, local media reported.
Four oil tankers were targeted off the UAE coast in May, with accurate details of the incident still hidden in confidentiality. Bolton has blamed Iran for the attack, yet Washington has neglected to provide any complicity proof to date.
