US Claims Video Shows Iran Removing Explosive Mine From Tanker

Suggests mine might be same type used in attacks

Following up on claims by US officials that Iran was behind the attacks on a pair of tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, Central Command released a video on Thursday night through the Associated Press, claiming the video showed Iran removing an unexploded explosive mine from the tanker.

The video, such as it is, is an extremely grainy black and white video for about a minute and a half. The start of the video shows a small ship, putatively an Iranian patrol boat, floating alongside the tanker, the Kokuka Courageous.

It is difficult to tell from the video if the crew of the boat is actually doing anything to the ship, and the interaction, such as it is, was just the first few seconds. It followed by zooming in to the boat after this, panning around the boat and zooming in and out awkwardly a few times. This continues for the entire rest of the video.

The US had already declared Iran guilty for the bombings, despite offering to actual evidence. The video seems far from conclusive, at least in the form seen so far, though earlier in the day it was suggested officials might not bother to release it at all, and just asserting its existence was meant to be damning enough.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.