Our live coverage has concluded. Read more about the vessel attacks in the Gulf of Oman here.
The US military said that the USS Bainbridge remains in contact with one of the vessels attacked this morning and “is the on-scene US command authority.”
“No interference with USS Bainbridge, or its mission, will be tolerated,” Lt. Col. Earl Brown, a spokesperson for US Central Command, said in a statement today.
A US official told CNN that multiple small Iranian boats have entered the area and the US is monitoring their activity.
The USS Mason is headed to the scene to provide additional assistance.
Read the rest of the statement:
The United Nations Security Council today privately discussed the latest oil tanker attacks in the Middle East, but declined to produce any formal reaction.
Kuwait’s UN Ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi said his country was pleased the topic was discussed. He said no country produced any evidence that might point the finger at those responsible.
The acting US Ambassador Jonathan Cohen, echoed much of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s earlier comments in Washington, blaming Iran for the attack in an attempt to destabilize the region. Cohen repeated his earlier comment to an open council session in the morning calling the attacks “unacceptable.”
Cohen said he expected further conversations on the blasts in coming days.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran is responsible for today’s attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
He said the the United States government is drawing this conclusion based on “on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the operation” — but he did not offer any concrete evidence to support the claim.
National Security Adviser John Bolton earlier today also spoke out to put responsibility on Iran, but also did not offer evidence.
Here’s what Iran has said about the attacks: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif noted that one of the ships is Japanese owned and that the attack took place as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was visiting Iran. He called the attack “suspicious” in a tweet.
Meanwhile, Russia has cautioned against “hasty statements” over the attack, with a spokesperson for the Kremlin saying it was premature to draw conclusions about the cause of the incident.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iran for an attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, saying the assessment was based on intelligence, but offered no evidence to support his claim.
He continued:
“This assessment is based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the operation, recent similar Iranian attacks on shipping, and the fact that no proxy group operating in the area has the resources and proficiency to act with such a high degree of sophistication.”
The two tankers attacked in the Gulf of Oman this morning were both hit “at or below the waterline, in close proximity to the engine room while underway,” according to the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko).
The crew of USS Bainbridge reported that they saw an unexploded limpet mine on the side of one of the ships attacked today in the Gulf of Oman, according to a US defense official familiar with the matter.
What that means: A limpet mine is type of a mine that is attached to side of a hull using magnets.
Limpet mines were also suspected d to be used in the May attack on four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE concluded that a “state actor” is the most likely culprit and chemical analysis of the debris recovered in May revealed “it was highly likely that limpet mines’ were deployed.”
What happens now: Additional US navy ships are expected to head to the area in the coming hours for security, patrolling, helping mariners get back to port and potentially assist in arranging for tankers to be towed to port, the source said.
CNN has obtained a satellite image that appears to show smoke rising from the Front Altair tanker after it was damaged in the Gulf of Oman attack.
The strong glint on the water is caused by light reflecting.
Take a look:
The Front Altair oil tanker was one of two ships that were apparently attacked in the Gulf of Oman Thursday.
The Norwegian Maritime Agency said that three explosions were reported on board the Marshall Islands-flagged Front Altair oil tanker, which is owned by the Bermuda-based Norwegian company Frontline. The company said that a fire broke out after an explosion and that the cause of the blast was unclear.
Here’s a look at the damage on Frontline’s oil tanker:
Two tankers were apparently attacked in the Gulf of Oman Thursday, less than a month after four other ships were struck in the region.
Here’s what we know about the apparent attack:
The United Nations Security Council is expected to discuss the attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, three diplomatic sources tell CNN. That meeting will be held at 4 p.m. ET.
“If there is something the world cannot afford, it is a major confrontation in the Gulf region,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council in a meeting earlier in the day.
Jonathan Cohen, the US Deputy Ambassador to the UN, said the attacks are “unacceptable.”
As the plumes rise from a brazen attack in the Gulf of Oman, oil brokers and diplomats are panicking about another lurch toward confrontation In the Middle East.
What happened is fairly clear – two tankers were struck as they sailed through this busy and strategic shipping lane – but why it happened and who did it is a lot less easy to explain, not least because it doesn’t appear to benefit any of the protagonists in the region.
Inevitably, similarities have been drawn between Thursday’s attacks and events a month ago, when four ships were targeted near the Emirati port of Furajah. For that, officials in Washington and beyond pointed the finger at Iran.
Thursday’s incident is significantly more blatant, but the same officials will doubtless blame Tehran again. If and when that happens, we should remember US National Security Advisor John Bolton promised to present evidence to the UN Security Council backing up those previous claims, but has yet to do so.
Who stands to gain?
Iran doesn’t appear to have a lot to gain. Say what you like about Tehran’s malicious intent, these incidents heighten the global drumbeat for greater isolation and boosts those who seek to apply military pressure on Iran. Its economy is in a bad condition. Before President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the JCPOA (colloquially known as the Iran nuclear deal), Tehran was at its peak of regional influence. With diminished economic resources, its potency is likely to wane.
The incidents also came in the middle of a visit to Tehran by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, apparently trying to mediate over the nuclear deal (although Tokyo says he’s not an envoy for Washington). The apparent attacks eclipsed the Abe visit, an unexpected bit of outreach to Iran by someone Trump calls a friend.
You could make a case for Iranian hardliners staging such an attack to derail peace efforts. But Iran’s hardliners – particularly the Revolutionary Guard – are normally a little smarter than to bomb international shipping lanes during a crucial diplomatic meeting. Iran’s chief moderate, Foreign Minister Javid Zarif, was right to point out that “suspicious doesn’t begin to describe what likely transpired this morning.” When one party is so easily blamed, it is likely blameless, or unfathomably stupid.
What else? Reuters has reported that Tehran has been scaling up its remaining petrochemical exports ahead of tightening sanctions. Could it be looking to boost the price of oil? Maybe. But at the same time, the shipping of that same oil is going to be disrupted, so they would likely lose out all the same. It is hard to imagine an Iranian hardliner smart enough to pull this sort of apparent attack off, without also realizing they would get immediately collared.
The state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) released photos and footage purporting to be of one of the tankers. CNN could not independently verify this footage.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, warning that the world cannot afford “a major confrontation in the Gulf region.”
“I note with deep concern this morning’s security incident in the Strait of Hormuz. I strongly condemn any attack against civilian vessels. Facts must be established, and responsibilities clarified. If there is something the world cannot afford, it is a major confrontation in the Gulf region,” Guterres told a meeting of the UN Security Council on cooperation between the UN and the League of Arab States Thursday morning.
There have been conflicting reports regarding the whereabouts of the 44 crew members evacuated from two tankers targeted in suspected attacks this morning. Here’s what we know:
Front Altair crew members are now en route to Iranian port city Bandar Abbas
All 23 crew members aboard the Front Altair tanker were rescued by the Hyundai Dubai, a South Korean cargo ship operating in the area, after explosions sparked a fire on board. According to the Hyundai Dubai, it picked up all sailors by 7:54 a.m. local time, about 74 minutes after receiving the distress call. The crew, comprising 11 Russians, one Georgian and 11 Filipinos, were transferred to an Iranian naval vessel and disembarked at a local Iranian port. They are now believed to be en route to Bandar Abbas port city, according to Frontline, the tanker’s owner.
Kokuka Courageous crew rescued by US vessel
All 21 crew members aboard the Kokuka Courageous abandoned the vessel after it was “attacked” twice with “some sort of shell,” per the ship’s Japanese owner Kokuka Sangyo. The mariners were rescued by a tug boat before being picked up by guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge, a US defense official told CNN. One of the crew sustained a light injury.
Iranian state media reports Iran Navy assisted in rescue
State-run news agency IRNA has reported that the 44 sailors and crew members on board the two tankers were rescued by the Iranian Navy.
France strongly condemned what it described as a “disturbing incident” involving two tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday.
“We have learned that a disturbing incident involving two tankers in the Arabian Sea has occurred today, in the broader context of rising tensions in the region, as evidenced also by the attack on the [Abha airport] in Saudi Arabia yesterday, which we firmly condemned,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson told CNN.
Yesterday a missile fired by rebels in Yemen landed in the arrivals hall of Abha airport in southwest Saudi Arabia, injuring 26 people according to Saudi officials.
“We call all the actors concerned, with whom we are in constant contact, to show restraint and de-escalation,” the French statement added. “We also would like to underscore our attachment to the freedom of navigation, which must absolutely be preserved.”
A senior Russian official on Thursday warned against “hasty conclusions” over the tanker incident in the Gulf of Oman or blaming the suspected attacks on Iran, Russian state-run news agency RIA-Novosti reported.
“I would use this opportunity to warn against hasty conclusions, from any attempts to impose responsibility on those who are seen as undesirable,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters after a meeting of the State Duma’s international affairs committee, RIA-Novosti reported.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov echoed the statement, saying it was premature to draw conclusions about the cause of the incident.
The two tankers were targeted Thursday morning in the Gulf of Oman, the same waterway where four commercial ships were attacked last month.
The attacks have ratcheted up existing tensions in the region, where Iran has long been at loggerheads with Saudi Arabia and the UAE – most recently over the civil war in Yemen.
The map in this post has been updated to correct the spelling of the Strait of Hormuz.
Thursday’s incident took place near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that has been the focal point of regional tensions for decades.
Roughly 30% of the world’s sea-borne crude oil passes through the strategic choke point, making it a flashpoint for political and economic friction.
The Strait of Hormuz links the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, separating Oman from its eastern neighbor, Iran. The strait is only 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, but is deep enough to handle the biggest tankers,
The US Energy Information Administration describes it as the “world’s most important choke point,” with roughly 80% of the crude it handles destined for markets in Asia.
Iran has previously made threats to block the waterway, but has not acted on them.
News that two tankers carrying “Japan-related cargo” were involved in a suspected attack broke during a high-stakes Japanese diplomatic mission to Iran.
The vessels were stricken in the Gulf of Oman, off the coast of Iran, on Thursday morning as Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was meeting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran.
Abe, who arrived in Tehran on a visit widely viewed as an attempt to mediate US-Iran tensions, has not yet commented on the incident.
One of the tankers, Kokuka Courageous, is owned by Japan-based company Kokuka Sangyo. According to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, both tankers were carrying “Japan-related cargo.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said “suspicious doesn’t begin to describe” the incident coinciding with Abe’s visit.
“We voice concern about the suspicious incidents, which happened today for the oil tankers affiliated to Japan concurrently with a meeting between the Japanese prime minister and Supreme Leader,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said in a post on Twitter.
