U.S. blames Iran for attacks on oil tankers in Sea of Oman

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that Iran is responsible for the attacks on two oil tankers in the Sea of Oman.

"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 today," Pompeo told reporters during a brief press conference at the State Department.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks to the media at the State Department in Washington, DC on June 13, 2019. [Photo: AFP]

The top U.S. diplomat, without presenting evidence to support his claim, added that the assessment was "based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the operation" and other issues.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Thursday that the incident was "suspicious."

The foreign minister called for regional dialogue, saying that "Iran's proposed Regional Dialogue Forum is imperative."

A picture obtained by AFP from Iranian News Agency ISNA on June 13, 2019 reportedly shows fire and smoke billowing from Norwegian owned Front Altair tanker said to have been attacked in the waters of the Gulf of Oman. [Photo: AFP]

Two oil tankers were hit in the Sea of Oman on Thursday morning, with at least one of them operated by a Japanese company. The attacks came amid Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Tehran. He is seeking to help ease tensions between Iran and the United States.

"While I very much appreciate P.M. Abe going to Iran to meet with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, I personally feel that it is too soon to even think about making a deal. They are not ready, and neither are we!" US President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday afternoon.

In recent weeks, Washington has ratcheted up pressure on Tehran with a series of sanctions, designations and military threats, trying to press Iran back to negotiations after the U.S. exit from the landmark Iran Nuclear Deal over a year ago.

Iranian authorities have stressed that Tehran will not sit for negotiations under Washington's threats or sanctions pressure.

In May, four commercial vessels suffered similar sabotage off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

(Story includes material sourced from Xinhua News Agency.)