Two tankers traveling through the Gulf of Oman were attacked on Thursday, forcing the crews to abandon the ships, and which left one of the ships on fire. One of the sailors was reported “slightly injured” in the incidents.
The ships were the Front Altair, a tanker owned by Frontline which was shipping naphtha to Taiwan, and the Kokuka Courageous, a ship owned by Japanese company Kokuka Sangyo, was transporting methanol to Singapore. They departed from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The ships were apparently hit with sea mines, potentially magnetic mines. The US Navy claimed to have seen an unexploded mine on one of the two ships. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other US officials immediately blamed Iran.
Pompeo’s declaration of Iran’s guilt was based chiefly on similar incidents happening in mid-May. John Bolton and Pompeo blamed Iran then, and since this was the same sort of thing, they blame Iran now. The problem is, they have offered no evidence Iran was responsible for the first incidents, let alone today’s, and are just tying them all together. Pompeo rattled off a list of things to blame Iran for, including multiple incidents that were done by Yemen’s Houthis, a rocket fired in Iraq that was never convincingly blamed on anyone, and an Afghanistan bombing that clearly was nothing to do with Iran at all.
The big questions are, as always, motive. Iran has no conceivable reason to attack such ships. In this case, one of the ships is even Japanese-owned. Japan is a very important trading partner of Iran, and Japan’s prime minister Abe Shinzo is visiting Iran right now, trying to reduce tensions. Abe has also declared Iran to have no intention to make nuclear arms. This would be a preposterous move for Iran to even consider.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif declared that “suspicious doesn’t begin to describe” what happened, noting that the attacks were timed to when Japanese PM Abe Shinzo was meeting with Iran’s Supreme Leader.
Abe’s meeting was also a subject of Pompeo’s comments, as Pompeo falsely accused Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of having refused the meeting with Abe. In reality, the meeting took place, and Khamenei simply rejected a proposal to trade messages with President Trump.
Pompeo went on to declare the attack on a Japanese ship during Abe’s Iran visit as an Iranian “insult to Japan.” This all rests on the US assumption of Iran’s guilt, and as Zarif points out, makes the attack look suspiciously like it might have been carried out for the benefit of the anti-Iran narrative.
This isn’t even original as false flags go.
More bullshit to sell war instigated by those who want war. It’s beyond obvious who’s behind these attacks.
Anybody who buys this has been lobotomized. Unfortunately, that describes most Americans to a tee.
30% of Americans think government is failing unless they are slaughtering someone for profit.
Where Pompeo, as a government official, makes such a statement without proof, should be criminal. Maybe it is, I don’t know.
There’s 18.1001, which covers lying to a federal official when the latter is acting in her official capacity. But he’s lying to the public, and I’m not sure how 18.1001 would operate in the context of one official lying to another.
How much do these people get paid, when they can’t even come up with a credible lie?
The Saudis are nuts and the Trump regime is opportunistic. You do the math.
The Saudis are nuts, Bolton & Pompeo are nuts, the MEK is nuts, the Pentagon is half-professional and half-psycho, and the Israelis/Mossad are calmly and comprehensively psychopathic.
What the world needs is more false-flag attacks. Remember the USS Liberty?
The _Liberty_ wasn’t a false flag, though. It was an attack by a nation nominally aligned with us, out of its own perceived interest, which wasn’t responded to by us in any way.
Iran would have a reason, to remind everyone that they can make the Straits of Hormuz very tricky to navigate with a tanker if the economic war without basis on them continues. That doesn’t mean it was them, certainly the numerous regimes thirsting for an excuse to use their mountains of American weapons might have arranged this mess.
It happened 200 kilometres away from the Strait of Hormuz.
Yeah, it’s hardly impossible that it was Iran, and it’s not like the US didn’t start it by economically strangling Iran. But it’s at least as likely that it’s not Iran.
America is the most vile corrupt piece of shit nation to ever exist. It’s government and secret agencies and military is by far the worse in the history of humanity. Trump is going to be the last president if he starts any major regional war in the Middle East. America is scum.
Three possibilities: (1) Mossad (most likely), (2) the Saudis (unfamiliar with subtlety, they probably would have used a bigger explosive), or (3) some rogue element in the US Deep State (rogue element because Trump would never order this), (4) Russia (the resulting oil war would cause a major disruption in the world supply of oil. The price of oil would go through the roof, providing a windfall for Russia and a crushing economic blow to the US).
I left out the MEK … who would have needed support from the CIA or Mossad.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/japanese-tanker-owner-contradict-u-s-officials-over-explosives-used-n1017556?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma
U.S. officials have not yet responded to the claims. But President Donald Trump reiterated U.S. allegations that Iran was behind the attack, telling the Fox News Channel that the incident had “Iran written all over it.”
Right, to Murdoch media he owes his political survival. Now plays to Murdoch tune. What did Trump think?
He is weak and has no support in circles that count.
Trump was belligerent towards Iran and stated his loyalty to Israel during his campaign. It makes me think that he said exactly what he thought.
He did. Exactly.
There was no way for him to become a president without promising BIG TIME to Israel, This hardly compensated for the rest of promises — ending stupid ME wars, corporate greed that abandoned US for profits in China and elsewhere. Then talking about big pharmaceuticals and opening market to foreign competition, banks and debt, cutting out spending on our allies, talk to Russia, etc. All anathema.
As for Iran — he was always clear about the need to renegotiate the deal. That was a sweetener to Neocons and Netanyahu. Never another war. He talked about ending foreign interventions and spending money on nation building.
Now Venezuela, and Abrams? This is straight out of Rubio playbook. the man he ridiculed.
But neither his party nor presumably “his” media, Murdoch’s Fox would ever support him in any issues off the reservation.
In fact, if you follow by now practically banned and ostracized internet presence of his base, you will find out growing anti-Israel sentiment, and very disappointed public, nominally supporting his rhetoric, but not with conviction.
I am not “his” nor “hers” — just following thoroughly what is going in — not taking away his not necessarily intended change agent role. Whether we like it or not — the stupid wars will not be that easily shoved down the throat of American public. And while elite knew how to deal with the antiwar left, it has no clue how to deal with antiwar right. Especially those to be counted on providing soldiers and waving flags.
Perhaps in a decade or so, immigrants will fill the gap.
Russia? That is your choice? Russia dies not need war on its borders (not that most Americans know that Russia and Iran share border on Caspian). Iran may get Russia into confrontation with US — as one dies not have to be a genius that US control over any portion of Iran constitutes both economic and military threat to Russia and China. Our Neocon ZEALOTS have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams in securing White House, as powerless President flails.
Americans need to ask themselves if our cities are secure from retaliatory attacks. Which I doubt. Neocons do not care about people — we are just “useless eaters”. And do they really care about our children, our soldiers die? Of course not — they are hoping that we would turn uber patriotic, ready to eat grass in order to secure victory. They know us well.
Russia was at the bottom of the list as least likely. I’m inclined to think MEK with a bit of Mossad (or Bolton) “encouragement & guidance”.
Right. Trump is only interested in destroying Iran economically.
The MIC isn’t even trying, anymore. What a lazy provocation.
They dont make false flags like they used to….
Of course it was Iran, seriously who else can it possibly be?
Our Sec of State claims there’s intelligence pointing to Iran as the culprits.
Of course that information was probably provided by our great ally and dear friend Israel.
Pompeo, Bolton, and the rest of the #MIGA neocon warmongers are lusting for more spilled blood and death in the Middle East. The last chapter in their PNAC playbook (Project for the New American Century), the destruction of Iran is finally getting closer to their envisioned endgame.
If their deluded dreams comes true, I’m sure the neocons would all be riding high on their orgasmatrons as they bomb Iran!
The only problem is that Iran and it proxies will respond with such deadly force that thousands of American servicemen and women will be coming home in body bags. Our economy will be devastated by $10 or more a gallon gasoline prices. And most of the world would see us as the rogue state we are.
Is this what Americans really wants? Is this what #MAGA is all about?
Who profits? Israel, US, Saudi Arabia
Who loses? Iran
It’s brilliant. Blame Iran for every broken window, then claim “Iran has had a history of violent attacks”
This is just like the chemical attack in Syria. Assad waited for the inspectors to show up to gas his own people and now Iran attacks a Japanese tanker while Abe is on a visit. We have to start working on the believability of our false flag operations. We can’t assume that everyone is gullible enough to think BOTH Syria and Iran can be that f**king suicidal or stupid.
Is this the product of American education? Some logic. First it was a Norwegian ship, whose owner traded with Iran oil since eighties and was nicknamed “Iran’s lifeline”. So, Iran was going to hurt HIM? Or is it SOMEBODY sending message to this owner and others like him — stay away from Iran, or else.
And just as Abe was in Teheran delivering an inspired message on the great Iranian history and its importance to the region — here comes Iran to humiliate him and Japanese people. Again , this is SOMEBODY with huge chip its the shoulder about Iran and its strength. But that somebody wants US to do it. Everybody knows who that SOMEBODY might be — but in media not a whisper of any significance.
There are plenty of private militaries in the region — not a problem committing such political piracy, as almighty US all seeing eyes are clearly not focused. Instead, we get a murky picture of presumably totally dumb Iranians, going back to extract an unexploded mine. And all of the mines planted conveniently above the water line. Another Yellow Cake!
Israel. Or the CIA. What else do we need to know?
Maybe some sort of homing device or an individual anti tank weapon fired from just about anywhere. We have flooded the region with vast amounts of weapons, they will come back to haunt us. The one thing clear is the US has created the current Situation by pulling out of the treaty.