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US to send 1,000 additional troops to Middle East - Pentagon
RT,
17 June, 2019
The
acting Pentagon chief has green-lighted the deployment of 1,000
additional troops to the Middle East, citing “reliable, credible”
intelligence on recent attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf that
Washington blames on Iran.
In
a statement Monday, Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said
he approved US Central Command (CENTCOM)’s earlier request to
increase forces to “address
air, naval, and ground-based threats in the Middle East.”
The
US has been beefing up its troops in the region since early May, when
Washington sent a battery of Patriot missiles, nuclear-capable
bombers and an aircraft carrier strike group to the area, where it
currently has 1,500 troops.
The
growing threat from Tehran was given as justification for the
buildup. Washington has blamed Iran for a number of incidents in the
region over the last two months. Tehran denies its involvement.
A
recent report, citing UN sources in New York, alleged that Washington
was considering launching a ‘tactical
assault on Iran’
in
retaliation to the June 13th attack on two
foreign tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
A
recent report, citing UN sources in New York, alleged that Washington
was considering launching a ‘tactical
assault on Iran’
in retaliation to the June 13th attack on two
foreign tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
The
statement itself comes just hours after the Pentagon released new
images purporting to prove Iran’s guilt in the incident that
damaged Japanese-owned tanker 'Kokuka Courageous' and the
Norwegian-owned ‘Front Altair’. No insignia, flags or names of
the vessels can be discerned from the footage.
Iran
has refuted all the allegations about its involvement in the
incidents, pointing to a vast record of ‘false flag’ operations
carried out by the US to back up its interests around the world.
Pentagon
releases new pictures of the Oman Gulf tanker attack, says they
'prove' Iran's guilt
RT,
17
June, 2019
The
US Navy has released new photos of the aftermath of the attack on oil
tankers in the Gulf of Oman. The images are said to show an Iranian
speedboat, approaching one of the vessels to remove an unexploded
limpet mine.
The
new images show the same episode earlier featured in a very
low-quality black and white video released by the US military. The
new pictures – clearer and colored – appear to be
screengrabs from aerial footage of the incident.
The
pictures show a speedboat, said to be Iranian, approaching the
Japanese-owned tanker 'Kokuka Courageous' from the starboard side and
removing a device that Pentagon insists is a limpet mine. According
to Washington, this imagery somehow proves that Tehran was behind the
attack.
"Iran
is responsible for the attack based on video evidence and the
resources and proficiency needed to quickly remove the unexploded
limpet mine," the
US military said in a statement.
Other
pictures show a hole, said to be blown in the tanker's hull by
another mine, and even handprints of a person who removed the
unexploded device.
US To Send 1,000 More Troops To Counter Iran As Pentagon Releases New Photographs Of Tanker Attack
17 June, 2019
Just in case you, like most of the rest of the world (including specifically the Japanese, who demanded more proof), were not convinced of Iran's culpability in the attacks on the tankers in the Gulf of Oman, the Pentagon has released new, upgraded images and a timeline of events.
During a Monday press briefing it provided more details it said bolsters the US narrative of events, and even including a Navy explosives expert who in a presentation walked reporters through reasons why a mine placement above the Kokuka Courageous' waterline meant the intent was to damage the tanker but not to sink it. “Iran is responsible for the attack based on video evidence and the resources and proficiency needed to quickly remove the unexploded limpet mine,” according to a statement published with the photos.
The United Nations, meanwhile, along with the European Union, has urged caution and restraint, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for an independent investigation, saying "it is very important to know the truth." And notably Germany's foreign minister said that the grainy video provided by the US Navy was not enough to convince Berlin of Iran's guilt.
Yet in predictable fashion the White House is already mulling additional military deployments to the Middle East, including fighter jets, Patriot missile batteries, and even ground combat troops, according to Reuters. We've also entered the all too familiar "a range of options are on the table" rhetoric, as Pompeo said in recent statements.
As of Monday evening US CENTCOM announced the US will send 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East as part of preparedness should American assets or allies come under threat from Iran or its proxies.
However,
as we previously
noted, this particular incident has been met with a nearly
unprecedented amount of public and media skepticism, even from the
likes of CNN,
which had initially bluntly acknowledged, "Iran
doesn't appear to have a lot to gain".
In that same report last week, CNN went so far as to agree with
Iran's foreign minister that the whole narrative was just too
terribly simplistic and convenient, as CNN surprisingly put
it: 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.Via ABC News: "The new color images released by U.S. Central Command show an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Ghashti-class patrol boat alongside the Kokuka Courageous during and after the removal of the unexploded mine that had been left on the ship's hull."
Via ABC: There are also close-up photos that show the ring around where magnets had attached the mine to the ship, as well as composite residue from the mine still on the ship’s hull. Additional photos from the Pentagon show the holes caused to the two tankers by the mines.
The
Pentagon during Monday's briefing doubled down on its claim that it
couldn't have been a torpedo, which is why it emphasized the mine
being placed above the waterline.
Also interesting was the explanation concerning why IRGC personnel - according to the US claim - would engage in a dangerous demining operation with so many people aboard the small craft that went to the side of the Kokuka Courageous, per ABC:
The officials described the attempt to remove the unexploded mine in the way shown in the images as "very high risk" and not a way that the U.S. Navy would have ever undertaken. According to those officials they would have removed the mine remotely with as few personnel around the ship as possible.
Below is the Pentagon's newly updated timeline on June 13 near the Strait of Hormuz, providing the US perspective of events.
* * *
At 3:12 a.m. the destroyer USS Mason received a call from the M/T Front Altair reporting that it was attacked in the Gulf of Oman. A large fire was observed a few minutes later and the destroyer USS Bainbridge, 40 nautical miles away, moved to render aid.
At 4:00 a.m., the M/T Kokuka Courageous reports being hit by an external projectile, taking on water and confronting a fire in its engine room.
At 5:09 a.m. Iran's Hendijan PGG and "multiple fast inshore attack craft observed within the area."
At 5:15 a.m. the Front Altair confirms major fire amidships.
At 6:26 a.m. an unidentified Iranian patrol boat requests the M/V Hyundai Dubai hand over crew rescued from the Front Altair, a request the ship complies with.
At 8:05 a.m. The Bainbridge approaches a Dutch tug, the Coastal Ace, which had rescued the crew of the Kokuka Courageous. The Iranian ship Hendijan PGG tried to get to the tug first, according to the Pentagon.
At 8:32 a.m. The sailors rescued by the Coastal Ace are transferred to the Bainbridge.Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has suggested that Iran's enemies may have been behind the attacks, essentially framing his country, and renewed calls for a regional dialogue. In a tweet Friday he said, "Unilateral US actions - incl. its #EconomicTerrorism on Iran - are solely responsible for insecurity & renewed tension in our region."
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