Pompeo: Evidence shows Iran behind 2 tanker attacks
Says more evidence of Iran’s culpability will come soon
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said U.S. intelligence provided “unmistakable” evidence that Iran was responsible for attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week. He said “the world will come to see” much of that intelligence and data.
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that more evidence will be released soon to prove the administration’s assertion that Iran was responsible for attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week.
Despite some skepticism from U.S. allies and Democrats, Pompeo said on “Fox News Sunday” that U.S. intelligence provided “unmistakable” evidence of Iranian culpability. He said “the world will come to see” much of the intelligence and data that led the administration to that conclusion.
“The American people should rest assured, we have high confidence with respect to who conducted these attacks, as well as a half dozen other attacks throughout the world over the past 40 days,” he said.
But questions have swirled recently around the evidence and the interpretation of it, in part because allies and some members of Congress question the administration’s credibility. Many countries are asking for more proof.
The owner of the Japanese tanker has said the crew believes the vessel was hit by a flying object, not a mine, as the United States has asserted. And on Sunday, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency said “a source close to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe” told the agency that Pompeo’s evidence did not amount to “definite proof” that Iran carried out the attack.
Germany’s foreign minister has also questioned the utility of a video released by the Pentagon purporting to show Iranians in a small patrol boat removing an unexploded mine from one of the tankers, saying it is insufficient as evidence.
Pompeo brushed the skepticism aside.
“We don’t just purport,” he said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” “That’s what that video is. This was taken from an American camera . ... The world needs to unite against this threat from this Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Pompeo also defended his statement last week that Iran was behind a May 31 car bomb in Kabul as a U.S. military convoy was passing by, injuring four U.S. service members slightly and killing several Afghan civilians.
The Pentagon on Sunday accused Iran of shooting a missile at a U.S. drone last Thursday as the unmanned surveillance aircraft was flying near one of two crippled tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
The Pentagon also said Iranian-backed Houthi rebels shot down a highflying U.S. Reaper drone in Yemen on June 6, blaming unspecified “Iranian assistance” for the successful attack. The claims could intensify rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, raising the possibility that President Donald Trump will order new forces to the Middle East or take other steps to punish Tehran as part of what he calls a “maximum pressure” campaign.
Lt. Col. Earl Brown, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said a U.S. intelligence assessment had concluded that “a modified Iranian SA-7 surfaceto-air missile attempted to shoot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone over the Gulf of Oman to disrupt surveillance” of the crippled tanker.
The missile missed by a wide distance, Brown said.
He provided no evidence to back up the claim that an attempted attack had occurred and did not explain why the Pentagon waited three days to make the accusation.
The rising tensions are feeding fears of a wider conflict.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned of the dangers of stumbling into war.
“We have absolutely no appetite for going to war, or to be provocative to create situations that might evoke responses, where mistakes could be made,” she said on CNN.
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg called for leaders to focus on de-escalating tensions and said the Trump administration’s “low” credibility has added to confusion about what happened.
“It’s a little distressing to think that because this administration’s credibility is so low in general, I think a lot of people are thinking twice at a moment when America’s word should be decisive,” the South Bend, Indiana, mayor said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
But Rep. Adam Schiff, DCalif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and one of the administration’s sharpest critics, called the U.S. evidence “strong and compelling,” saying on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that there’s “no question that Iran’s behind the attacks.”
“I think this is a Class A screw-up by Iran,” Schiff said. “… I can imagine there’re some Iranian heads rolling from that botched operation.”
Pompeo bristled at the suggestion a credibility gap might make it more difficult to “sell” Americans into supporting a military confrontation.
“We’re not selling anything,” he said on “Face the Nation.” “These are simple facts. I’ve had many conversations over the past, frankly weeks, talking about Iran’s activity. No one doubts the data set.”
Iran has denied any responsibility for the suspicious explosions on the tankers. Pompeo has said that Iran is conducting a number of attacks on U.S. allies and interests in an attempt to reverse the administration’s strategy of imposing an escalating series of sanctions to drive Iran’s oil exports to zero.