Two tankers explode | Tension and accusation …

The attack on two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz – between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman – has increased tensions in the region. The fire yesterday of the two ships (a Norwegian and a Japanese) comes one month after the alleged sabotage of four ships in the same area. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo immediately accused Iran of perpetrating the attack, while Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Yavad Zarif called the incident a suspect. Following these events, the price of oil has skyrocketed.

The first incident occurred around 9 am (local time) aboard the "Altair Front", a vessel belonging to the Norwegian shipowner Frontline and flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, 25 km from Bandar. Jask, a port city in southern Iran. The ship was carrying a cargo of ethanol from Qatar to Taiwan, according to the official IRNA news agency. "When the ship caught fire, 23 crew members jumped to the water and were rescued by a nearby ship and handed over to an Iranian rescue unit," according to the report. "One hour after the first accident, another ship caught fire at a distance of 9.50 to 28 nautical miles from the port," IRNA added. The "Kokuka Courageous", an oil tanker that sailed to Thailand then Singapore under Panamanian flag and owned by the Japanese company Kokuka Sangyo, was the victim of the incident about 30 miles from Jask. Officials from the Japanese firm told Japan that the boat, which was carrying 25,000 tonnes of methanol, had a first impact at the port. The crew attempted to extinguish the fire that had been declared in the engine room, but after a second impact also to port, the captain ordered to leave the ship and its 21 members crew, of Filipino nationality, were rescued by the Iranian ship.

The US Secretary of State accused Iran of being at the origin of the alleged attacks. "According to the US government, the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for the attacks perpetrated today (yesterday) in the Gulf of Oman," said Pompeo during a brief appearance in front of the media in the state department.

The head of the US diplomacy justified his accusation: "For intelligence reports, the weapons used, the level of knowledge required to execute the operation, similar attacks against ships perpetrated recently by Iran and the fact that no rebel group in the region has the resources to act with such sophistication, "he said.

The official pointed out that it was only the latest examples of attacks perpetrated by the Iranian government and its supporters against the interests of the United States and its allies. He then listed all the attacks on his country in the region in recent months. which makes Iran directly responsible. Pompeo also recalled that Tehran had threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz after Washington had tightened the embargo on Iranian oil. The Strait is a key seaway where about 15 million barrels of oil and hundreds of millions of dollars of other goods flow daily. Then, the official said that with these attacks, Iran had the intention to fulfill its promise. "When considered as a whole, these unprovoked attacks represent a clear threat to peace and security, a flagrant violation of freedom of navigation and an unacceptable campaign for escalating tensions on the part from Iran, "he said. Pompeo also described as insulting the fact that one of the ships attacked was Japanese, a country that offered to mediate between the United States and Iran.

However, the Iranian Foreign Minister stressed that the alleged attack would have occurred while the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, so he called the event of suspect. "Attacks on oil tankers Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has met with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for in-depth and friendly discussions," said Zarif on his official Twitter account, "and because of the fact that some countries have accused Iran of a similar incident last month, Zarif added that the term "suspicious" does not describe what happened yesterday morning.Mr Abe began Wednesday a historic visit to two days in Iran with the aim of easing tensions in the Middle East, mainly between Tehran and Washington.

The incident yesterday came at a time of increasing tension between the two countries, which has led the White House to use these attacks as one of the causes that justify the increase in the US military presence in the region and the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia, a transaction that does not have the support of the United States Congress.