WASHINGTON: The US military yesterday accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) of being directly responsible for attacks on tankers off the UAE earlier this month, describing it as part of a “campaign” by Tehran driving new US deployments.
Rear Admiral Michael Gilday, the director of the Joint Staff, described US intelligence portraying a new Iranian “campaign” that used old tactics, and stretched from Iraq to Yemen to the waters in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime chokepoint for the global oil trade.
The Pentagon said limpet mines were used in the attack.
“We believe with a high degree of confidence that this stems back to the leadership of Iran at the highest levels and that all of the attacks that I mentioned have been attributed to Iran through their proxies or their forces,” he said.
A Norwegian-registered oil products tanker and a UAE fuel bunker barge were among four vessels hit near Fujairah, one of the world’s largest bunkering hubs located just outside the Strait of Hormuz.
Gilday also accused Iran-backed “proxy” forces of carrying out a rocket attack in Baghdad’s Green Zone last week.