Trump Regime Official Blames Iran for Gulf of Oman False Flag

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

On Thursday, two tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman, the Marshal Islands-flagged Front Altair and the Panama-flagged Kokuka Courageous.

An Iranian vessel rescued all 44 crew members onboard both ships, transporting safely ashore. The incident followed early May attacks on tankers belonging to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, along with striking Saudi pumping stations and a rocket hitting Baghdad's Green Zone, causing no casualties or damage.

Iran was falsely blamed for these incidents despite no evidence suggesting its responsibility for what happened. The same goes for the Thursday attacks, suspiciously looking like a false flag.

According to CBS News, an unnamed US defense official said it's "highly likely Iran caused these attacks" in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday," adding:

"The official dismissed an Iranian claim to have rescued the crews of both vessels in the Gulf of Oman as 'patently false' " — a bald-faced Big Lie. 

US RadioFreeEurope/Radio Liberty reported that crew members were taken safely to the Iranian "port of Bandar-e Jask in Hormozgan province."

Information from the US defense source was falsified. No evidence suggests the Islamic Republic ever attacked another nation, its vessels, or personnel preemptively — what the US and its imperial partners do repeatedly.

A Bahrain-based US Navy 5th Fleet statement on Thursday declined to "say how the ships were attacked or who was suspected of being behind the assault," according to the US Defense Department-connected Stars and Stripes broadsheet.

No evidence suggests Iran had anything to do with the Gulf of Oman incident — with clear earmarks of a US-staged false flag attack, maybe carried out jointly with Israel, wanting Iran falsely accused.

According to Japan's Trade Ministry, two vessels struck on Thursday were carrying "Japan-related cargo."

The incident occurred while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in Tehran on a diplomatic mission. Was the incident planned to sour bilateral relations?

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted: " 'Suspicious' doesn't begin to describe what likely transpired" on Thursday.

President Rouhani's spokesman Ali Rabei said Tehran urges regional cooperation to assure the safety of strategic waterways. "All countries in the region should be careful not to fall in the trap of those who benefit from regional insecurity," he stressed. 

Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV reported that the Norwegian-owned Front Altair sank on Thursday. Frontline CEO Robert Hvide Macleod denied the report, saying "I can confirm that the vessel has NOT sunk," adding its crew members are "all safe." 

Arab media reported that one or both ships were likely struck by torpedoes. Maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global said the Front Altair is afloat "on fire and adrift." Aerial footage from the scene showed the ship ablaze.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump was briefed on the incident, his regime continuing to "asses the situation."

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned against jumping to "hasty conclusions" about what happened and laying blame where it doesn't belong, adding: The incident must not be used as a pretext for escalating regional tensions more than already.

This continues to be a developing story, a potentially serious one, depending on what actions the Trump regime and its imperial partners may take against Iran.

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