Tankers almost certainly damaged by Iranian naval mines, John Bolton says

John Bolton, the US national security advisor, has publicly accused Iranian forces armed with naval mines of carrying out an attack on oil tankers earlier this month.  Speaking in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mr Bolton said Iran “almost certainly” used mines in the sabotage attack which damaged two oil tankers and two smaller ships at the Emirati port of Fujairah.   “There is no doubt in anybody’s mind in Washington who is responsible for this and I think it’s important that the leadership in Iran know that we know,” he said.  But Mr Bolton also adopted a softer tone than in the past, saying the US was not planning military action in response to the Fujairah attack.  However, he warned and Iran its proxy groups that “that these kind of activities risk a very strong response from the Americans.” Mr Bolton also said Iran had unsuccessfully tried to carry out an attack at the Saudi port of Yanbu but gave no further details.  Persian gulf sabotage attacks Iran denied responsibility and said Mr Bolton’s accusations were “ridiculous”.   Western officials have long suspected that Iran was behind the May 12 sabotage attack in the UAE, which damaged a Saudi and a Norwegian oil tanker, but Mr Bolton’s comments about naval mines are the first time a possible method has been revealed.  The UAE is continuing to lead an international investigation into the sabotage and has not formally accused any state of responsibility.  Meanwhile, Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, said the “road is not closed” for negotiations between the US and Iran if Washington agrees to lift crippling sanctions and return to the negotiating table.  Mr Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear agreement last year and imposed sanctions designed to completely choke off Iran’s oil exports. The president has repeatedly expressed his hope that Iran would stop supporting militant groups across the Middle East and enter negotiations with the US. “I'm sure that Iran will want to talk soon,” he said last week. The US has been building up its forces in the Middle East since early May, when Mr Bolton announced that an American aircraft carrier and bomber squadron was being sent to the region in response to Iranian threats. While Mr Bolton has taken a consistently hard line on both Iran and North Korea, Donald Trump has publicly distanced himself from his aide’s hawkish approach.

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