WASHINGTON: A senior Pentagon official yesterday said that there were indications that Iran could potentially carry out aggressive actions in the future, amid simmering tensions between Iran and the US.
Tensions in the Gulf have risen since attacks on oil tankers this summer, including off the coast of the UAE, and a major assault on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia. Washington has blamed Iran, which has denied being behind the attacks on global energy infrastructure. “We also continue to see indications, and for obvious reasons I won’t go into the details, that potential Iranian aggression could occur,” John Rood, the Pentagon’s No 3 official, said. Rood did not provide details about what information he was basing that on or any timeline. “We’ve sent very clear and blunt signals to the Iranian government about the potential consequences of aggression,” Rood said.
* A US Navy warship seized missile parts believed to be linked to Iran in the Gulf of Oman, US officials said. The officials said the guided missile destroyer Forrest Sherman detained a small boat last week and a detachment of Coastguard personnel boarded the vessel, where the missile parts were found.
The crew on the small boat has been transferred to the Yemeni Coastguard and the missile parts are in possession of the US for now, the officials added.