The waterways that bring Middle Eastern oil to international markets have become a conflict zone after the latest attack on two tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf into open ocean.
The U.S. blames Iran, and has released footage of what it says are Iranian forces removing a mine from one of the tankers after another mine damaged it. In a statement, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo rattled off a long list of recent alleged Iranian acts of aggression.
Iran denies involvement. President Hassan Rouhani, at a summit in Kyrgyzstan, accused the U.S. of seeking to "destroy international rules and structures."
The president of one of the tankers' operators says there's no way a mine caused the damage: Crew on the ship saw it being hit by a projectile.
U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated he does not want to get pulled into war in the Gulf, and has said he remains open to talking. There's been a flurry of diplomatic activity — including a visit to Iran by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this week — to try and settle things down. European nations have also urged calm.
It's unlikely the U.S. would have broad international support for a fight. But the risk of miscalculation as navies circle each other is real.
"I've been saying for the past month that the threat of war with Iran is over-hyped," said Ilan Goldenberg, a former Pentagon official who's now at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security. "Not after today."
- Benjamin Harvey
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