page_title: June 2019 Gulf of Oman incident
section_title: Iran
hierarchical_section_title: June 2019 Gulf of Oman incident / Reactions / Political / Iran
caption_attribution_description: English: Iranian patrol boat pictured by the Kokuka Courageous after the
context_page_description: On 13 June 2019, two oil tankers were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz while they transited the Gulf of Oman. The Kokuka Courageous, flagged in Panama and operated by a company based in Japan, and Front Altair, flagged in Marshall Islands and operated by a company based in Norway, were attacked, allegedly with limpet mines or flying objects, sustaining fire damage. American and Iranian military personnel responded and rescued crew members. The attacks took place a month after the similar May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident and on the same day the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe in Iran. Abe was acting as an intermediary between American President Donald Trump and Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
  Amid heightened tension between Iran and the United States, the United States blamed Iran for the attacks. Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom supported the United States' accusation. Germany has stated that there is "strong evidence" that Iran was responsible for the attacks, while Japan has asked for more proof of Iran's culpability. Iran denied the accusation, blaming the United States for spreading disinformation and warmongering.
context_section_description: After news of the incident, the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted "Suspicious doesn't begin to describe what likely transpired this morning." He described the attacks as a move by "the B-team" to sabotage diplomacy. Iran's United Nations mission issued a statement wherein it called on the United States and its regional allies to "put an end to mischievous plots and false flag operations in the region." Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said that the United States may have carried out false flag operations against the oil tankers.
  On 18 June, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said on live television that "Iran will not wage war against any nation. Those facing us are a group of politicians with little experience."
  Iran's mission to the United Nations responded to the U.S. accusation by saying that the Iranian government "categorically rejects" the U.S. claim that it was responsible for the attacks and condemned it "in the strongest possible terms".
caption: The patrol boat filmed allegedly removing a limpet mine (pictured) matches the model and dimensions of patrol boats used by the IRGC Navy, with its distinctive chevron pattern and center console.[61]
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