UN chief wants independent probe into Gulf tanker attacks
(VOVWORLD) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Friday for an independent investigation to establish the facts and find out who was responsible for Thursday attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. He said the world cannot afford a major confrontation in the region.
 Thick smoke billows from an oil tanker after an attack in the Gulf of Oman on June 13, 2019. (Photo: VNA) |
The damages to the Japanese vessel Kokuka Courageous and the Norwegian vessel Front Altair may have been caused by a torpedo or magnetic mine.
The US military released a video footage which it says shows an Iranian military patrol boat approaching one of two tankers, to support the Trump administration’s claims that Iran was responsible.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Friday rejected the US accusations, saying that the US immediately jumped to make allegations against Iran without a shred of factual or circumstantial evidence. Zarif hinted at a conspiracy, noting that the tankers, one owned by a Japanese firm, occurred while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in Iran trying to calm relations in the Middle East.