Persian Gulf update 6/15/2019..Russian president Putin says US withdrawal from Iran deal destabilizing region

Russian president Putin says US withdrawal from Iran deal destabilizing region

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Breaking down the video U.S. military says shows Iranian forces removing mine from tanker

Russian Expert Blames US for Attacks against Oil Tankers in Sea of Oman

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A prominent Russian expert said that the US has launched the Thursday attacks on two oil tankers in the Sea of Oman to spread Iranophobia, satisfy Israel and find a pretext for prolonged presence in the region.

“Allegations that Iran is behind the two oil tankers incident in the Sea of Oman are not believable,” Head of the Russian Center for Iran Studies and senior analyst on regional issues Rajab Safarov said in an interview with Russia 24 news channel on Friday.

He described the US as the culprit behind the incident, and said in conditions that Iran along with two world powers, Russia and China, are after keeping the nuclear deal, Tehran will not resort to provocative acts against its interests.

Safarov added that the most important reason to blame the US for the incident is its interest in prolonged deployment in the Persian Gulf under the pretext of defending the Persian Gulf Arab states against what it calls as Iran’s threat.

“There is also another important scenario. The US is now producing 12mln barrels of oil on a daily basis and it has not only become self-sufficient but also has turned into one of the most important exporters of oil and therefore, it wants to cripple oil transfer in the Persian Gulf and annihilate the European states and China’s economy,” he said.

“The US introduces itself as the savior of the world and the biggest guarantor of peace and security and Iran as the biggest enemy of peace and the world’s economic lifeline by claiming to be rescuing Europe and the Arab and Asian states from an economic, political and geopolitical catastrophe and it will force them to bow to Washington and cut ties with Iran. Therefore, what you see is a scenario which fully benefits Trump and his supporters to force the world to bow to him,” Safarov warned.

Asked about the possibility for military conflict between Iran and the US, he said that Washington does not enjoy the capability and power to attack Iran and they fear any military confrontation, adding that tens of ways are before Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz but the Iranians do not want to adopt provocative measures.

Safarov said that by launching attacks against the oil tankers in the Sea of Oman, Washington pursues Iranophobia in the world to meet its economic interests, satisfy the Israeli lobby, pressure the Persian Gulf Arab states to plunder their petrodollars and hit a blow to Europe and China’s economy.

The Japanese company that owns the ‘Kokuka Courageous’ tanker has said its crew spotted “flying objects” before the attack in the Gulf of Oman, contradicting US claims that the vessel was damaged by a naval mine.

Yutaka Katada, president of Kokuka Sangyo, told reporters on Friday that sailors on board the ill-fated oil tanker observed “flying objects” just before the incident in which the ship caught fire and was badly damaged. The giant vessel was hit twice, first near the engine room and then on its starboard side.

He suggested that those flying objects could have been bullets, and called reports of striking a mine “false.” Both points at which the ship was damaged were above her waterline, which couldn’t be so if it had struck an underwater mine.

The tanker was carrying petroleum products to Singapore and Thailand when it was attacked while sailing through the Gulf of Oman on Thursday. All 21 crew members abandoned the ship and were reportedly rescued by an Iranian vessel. While many details of the incident are still shrouded in mystery, the US was quick to blame Iran.

Later that day, the US military released a blurry video showing what they claimed were Iranian sailors removing an “unexploded limpet mine” from the ‘Kokuka Courageous.’ The poor quality of the video made it especially challenging to independently verify the claims.

Katada’s account partly contradicted American allegations of a mine attack, but did mention that the crew had spotted an Iranian Navy ship nearby. However, the president failed to specify whether it was there before or after the attack.

Another tanker, the Norwegian-owned ‘Front Altair,’ also suffered some damage while passing through the Gulf of Oman at around the same time. There have been reports of a torpedo attack on the vessel, but it is not yet clear from the firm’s statement whether it was attacked.

It is unknown who would benefit from targeting the ships, but the timing of the incidents is especially sensitive. The attack on the tankers that were carrying “Japan-related” cargo notably came during a rare visit to Tehran by Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.

Suspicious doesn’t begin to describe what likely transpired this morning,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. As the day progressed, he hit back at the US accusations, saying Washington is trying to set up a false-flag attack in order to “sabotage diplomacy” and cover up their own “economic terrorism” against Tehran.

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Farsnews Yemen: New Missile, Drone Power to Change Economic, Political Equation for Saudi-Led Coalition

Yemeni Air Force Spokesman Brigadier General Abdullah Al-Jefri underlined that the equations of war have changed by his country’s missiles and drones, adding that the Saudi-UAE coalition will be forced to stop the war soon.

General Jefri told the Arabic-language Mer’at al-Jazeera news website that after the recent attacks against Najran, Jizzan and Abha, Yemen will launch offensives against the airbases, spcially Khamis Mashit region in Assir which is considered as one of the most important Saudi military bases which hosts Israeli military experts too.

“The Yemeni missiles and planes will reach Riyadh and regions farther than Riyadh as long as the coalition countries continue siege and aggression against Yemen,” he added.

General Jefri said that Yemen also is in possession of new advanced missiles and drones which can reach Bab al-Mandab and the Suez canal, adding that the Saudi-UAE coalition will be forced to end the war in the near future.

He warned that his nation’s expanded missile and drone power would change political, military and economic equations in the battleground, saying that the 300 marked targets that include energy pipelines and exports would bring the Saudi-led coalition to its knees.

Yemen’s armed forces on Friday carried out retaliatory drone attacks on an airport in Southwestern Saudi Arabia for the second time in a week.

Yemeni Qasif-2K drones targeted the airport in the Saudi province of Asir in the early hours of Friday morning, two days after a cruise missile attack by army troopers and allied fighters from Popular Committees at the strategic Saudi facility, al-Masirah television network reported.

There have been no immediate reports of possible casualties or the extent of damage caused as a result of the attack.

A Saudi-led coalition spokesman said in a statement released by the Saudi Press Agency that the country’s air missile defense systems had intercepted five Yemeni drones over the Saudi airport on Friday morning.

On Wednesday, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces, stated that US-built surface-to-air missile systems stationed at Abha airport could not intercept the cruise missile, which he said had hit the designated target with great precision.

He noted that the missile hit the observation tower in the airport, which is about 200 kilometers North of the border with Yemen and serves domestic and regional routes, causing significant disruption to air travel.

Saree pointed out that the missile attack on Abha airport was part of retaliatory measures by Yemeni soldiers and their allies in the face of the Saudi-led coalition’s crimes against Yemeni people.

Saudi Arabia also confirmed the Wednesday attack, with Coalition Spokesman Turki al-Maliki saying in a statement that a Yemeni missile had hit the airport’s arrivals hall, injuring 26 people and causing material damage.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing the government of former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crushing the Ansarullah movement.

Despite Riyadh’s claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi bombers are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures. Weddings, funerals, schools and hospitals, as well as water and electricity plants, have been targeted, killing and wounding hundreds of thousands.