U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that Iran is responsible for the attacks on two oil tankers in the Sea of Oman without providing hard evidence, while Tehran called the incident "suspicious", Trend reports citing Xinhua.
"It is the assessment of the United States government that the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for the attacks that occurred in the Gulf of Oman today," Pompeo told reporters during a brief press conference at the State Department.
The top U.S. diplomat, without presenting solid evidence to support his claim, added that the assessment was "based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the operation" and other issues.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said earlier in the day that the attacks on two oil tankers were "suspicious," noting that they occurred while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was meeting with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "for extensive and friendly talks."
Two oil tankers were hit in the Sea of Oman on Thursday morning, with at least one of them operated by a Japanese company. The attacks came amid Abe's visit to Tehran, who is seeking to help ease tensions between Iran and the United States.