Tensions in the Gulf of Oman 2019

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Approximate position of the two oil tankers on June 13, 2019 around 08:00 UTC

In 2019, diplomatic and military tensions arose in the Gulf of Oman between the United Arab Emirates , the United Kingdom and the United States on the one hand and Iran on the other. The tensions reached their peak so far with six unexplained attacks on merchant ships in May and June 2019 and the shooting down of a US drone by Iran. In spring 2019, the USA tightened its sanctions against Iran and its oil exports.

background

In early May 2019, the US relocated the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) to the Persian Gulf .

In the wake of US President Trump's exit from the nuclear deal with Iran , the confrontation between Iran and the US intensified again. The United States imposed economic sanctions on Iran and its oil exports. The sale of oil is one of the main sources of foreign currency in the country. In early May 2019, the US announced that it would move additional forces from the Mediterranean to the region, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with its escort fleet, a B-52 bomber squadron, the USS Arlington , and a battery of Patriot missiles .

The Strait of Hormuz on the edge of the Gulf of Oman, which allows access to the Persian Gulf, is strategically sensitive in the region . A considerable part of the world's oil needs are transported through this shipping route . In previous disputes with the USA, Iran repeatedly threatened to block the road, which would violate the Geneva Convention on the Law of the Sea and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea . However, neither Iran nor the US have ratified the UN Convention.

In this area of ​​the sea, conflicts over oil tankers from competing countries have repeatedly occurred. During the First Gulf War from 1981, the armed forces of the hostile states Iran and Iraq repeatedly attacked tankers and cargo ships from the other country. The aim was to prevent imports and exports and thereby weaken the enemy. At times, the great powers USSR and USA intervened by providing their national flag or escorting tankers.

From June 2019, Iran violated more and more points of the nuclear agreement . Observers see the incidents in the Gulf of Oman as an attempt by Iran to mobilize the Europeans to promote a diplomatic solution to the dispute over the US embargo and the conflict with the US.

course

Attacks on ships

Almost all of the ships were attacked in the Emirate of Fujairah in the east of the United Arab Emirates on the Gulf of Oman. The Gulf separates the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Here is one of the most important waterways in the world for exporting oil; Fujairah is an important storage and transshipment point.

Two Saudi tankers , which were supposed to deliver crude oil to customers in the US on behalf of the state-owned Saudi Aramco , were attacked on May 14 while they were anchored with 185 other ships in front of the Fujairah oil loading port . On the same day, two other tankers anchored in the sea area were damaged by attacks by unknown actors. A preliminary investigative report by the authorities of Saudi Arabia, Oman and Norway from the beginning of June 2019 concluded that combat swimmers had apparently approached the tankers Amjad , Al Marzoqah , A Michel and Andrea Victory and installed explosive devices underwater near the engine rooms in order to destroy the To immobilize ships by the explosions, but not to sink them. The complex operation points to a state actor as the mastermind.

One month later, on June 13, 2019, the tankers Front Altair and Kokuka Courageous , operated by Norwegian and German shipping companies, were damaged in the Gulf of Oman under unknown circumstances. The US Navy announced that it had received emergency calls from the two affected ships and had sent vehicles from its fifth fleet to help. The front Altair belongs to the group Frontline, which operates the largest tanker fleet of Earth. The crews of both ships were rescued and, according to the first Iranian information, brought to an Iranian port. The Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), however, announced that the 21-person crew of their Kokuka Courageous had been picked up by a ship of the US Navy.

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on the same day that dealt with the events in the Gulf of Oman.

Video recording of the US Central Command , which allegedly the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the removal of a limpet mine on the Kokuka Courageous at 16:10 local time shows

Blame and dispatch of US soldiers to the region

The authorities of the United Arab Emirates spoke of "anti-state operations" against ships in the region after the first attacks in May. John Bolton , US President Donald Trump's security advisor , accused Iran of being behind the attacks in late May 2019 . However, he did not provide any evidence for this. Even Saudi Arabia made Iran and responsible he supported forces. Iran denied the allegations and called for an investigation into the alleged sabotage attempts.

The US command at the Pentagon reported the day after the second attacks in June that a US Forces plane had seen an Iranian patrol boat and other Iranian ships near the Altair Front . Furthermore, it is assumed that the Kokuka Courageous was damaged by a detention mine . The Pentagon released footage from its long-range reconnaissance that showed a patrol boat and its crew on the hull of the abandoned Kokuka Courageous . According to the Pentagon, it was Iranian soldiers who are removing an unexploded detention mine to starboard amidships . The previous explosion had damaged the aft hull , also on the starboard side. US President Donald Trump told Fox News on June 14 that Iran was responsible for damaging the two tankers the day before. He referred to the video, there you can see the Iranian boat at night and how they successfully removed a mine from the tanker and that, according to Trump, has now been revealed. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also blamed Iran for the attacks and referred to intelligence that would prove this. The foreign ministries of France and Germany urged caution about the tense situation and warned of a further escalation. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said his government believes Iran is "almost certain" behind the attack on the two ships. The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also joined the US account of the events and accused Iran.

On June 17, in response to the attacks on tankers, the Pentagon announced an increase in its armed forces in the area by deploying 1,000 more US soldiers.

Iran drone down, US response

On June 20, 2019, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards shot down an unmanned US drone of the type “ RQ-4A Global Hawk ” using the anti-aircraft missile system “Raad” . The drone operated over the Strait of Hormuz at night. While the US states that the device was flying over the Strait of Hormuz in international airspace, around 34 kilometers from the nearest point on the Iranian coast, at the time of shooting, Iran denies this. The drone had penetrated the Iranian airspace off the coast of the Hormozgan province . According to Amir Ali Hajisadeh , commander of the Air Division of the Revolutionary Guard, the American drone had been warned several times before the launch without any changes in the flight path being discernible. In addition, an American P-8 with around 35 people on board broke into Iranian airspace near the drone . "We could have attacked that plane - it was our right to do so - but we didn't," said Hajisadeh.

On the same day, the United States Cyber ​​Command attacked military missile control systems and an Iranian intelligence unit with cyber attacks that had been planned for weeks .

The next day, the US military also prepared physical attacks on military infrastructure in Iran. According to US President Trump, 150 people would have been killed. Via Twitter Trump explained that he had the attack ten minutes before the start stopped because this would not have been in relation to the shooting down of an unmanned drone.

The following occurrences

July 10: Attack on British Heritage

On July 10, according to the US military and the British government, several boats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard pressed the tanker British Heritage as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz and requested the crew to steer the ship into Iranian territorial waters . The boats were only turned off when the British Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose , which was accompanying the oil tanker, issued radio warnings and the warship placed itself between the tanker and the Iranian boats. The incident was denied by the Revolutionary Guard and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Jawad Zarif . The Iranian action is seen by observers in the context of the boarding of the tanker Grace 1 on behalf of Iran by British troops on July 4, 2019 off Gibraltar . Iran had previously threatened Great Britain with consequences for the arrest of its tanker in Gibraltar.

July 14th: Events around the tanker Riah

The product tanker Riah ( IMO No. 8816455) sailing under the Panamanian flag was picked up by units of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on July 14, 2019 in the Strait of Hormuz and towed to the island of Qeschm . The US Department of Defense believes the tanker was arrested. According to Iranian information, the ship had a technical emergency. On July 17, 2019, however , the United Arab Emirates announced that they had not received a distress signal from this ship. According to the Iranian state television and the Iranian news agency Tasnim , the crew of the ship was arrested for smuggling. There were 1000 tons of oil on board. The owner of the ship is unclear. The British government said it was looking for more information and called on Iran to clarify. The US State Department requested clearance of the tanker.

July 18: Destruction of a drone by the USS Boxer

On July 18, 2019, according to US reports, the USS Boxer destroyed an Iranian drone in the area of ​​the Strait of Hormuz , which had previously come within a kilometer of the warship and did not respond to warnings. The presence of a corresponding flying object was confirmed by the Iranian side, but it had safely returned to its starting point. The Revolutionary Guards announced the publication of evidence. Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi speculated that the boxers could have accidentally destroyed their own drone .

July 19: Mesdar and Stena Impero

On July 19, two more tanker incidents occurred in the area of ​​the Strait of Hormuz. The Mesdar , sailing under the Liberian flag , was briefly detained. According to Iranian information, it was merely a routine measure during which the country's naval units informed the crew of the ship about the environmental regulations in force in the Persian Gulf.

On the same day, Stena Impero, owned by a Swedish company and sailing under the British flag, was radioed by units of the Revolutionary Guard to change course. The Royal Navy ship Montrose intervened by radio and asked the Iranian forces to let the ship pass. Later, a boarding team of the Revolutionary Guards rappelled down on the Stena Impero and arranged a change of course in the direction of the port of Bandar Abbas . Since the ship was in Omani waters, the action was considered a hijacking in the media . According to the Iranian authorities, the ship disregarded traffic regulations, was involved in an accident with a fishing vessel and had environmentally harmful materials on board. According to the Iranian Foreign Minister, a legal review of the situation is being considered. The accusation of the accident was denied by the British. The government judged the procedure as “unacceptable”, called the Parliament's Emergency Committee (COBRA) together and at the same time published the recommendation to all British ships to avoid the Strait of Hormuz until further notice. She announced that she wanted to solve the problem through diplomatic channels; The Iranian Foreign Minister stressed that the events should not lead to an escalation of the crisis in the Persian Gulf. At the end of September, the Stena Impero was allowed to continue its journey.

October 11: Sabiti

In the Red Sea , about 90 kilometers from Jeddah , the supertanker Sabiti was hit by two rockets while it was en route to Syria. The Iran-operated ship caught fire after an explosion and oil spilled in the sea. It was initially unclear who was behind the attack.

Effect on economy

After the attacks in May 2019, the price of oil on the world market rose by over US $ 1 per barrel . The alleged attack on the two tankers in June also drove up the price of oil. US light US oil of the West Texas Intermediate variety and North Sea oil of the Brent variety both rose in price by more than US $ 1 per barrel.

Attack on Abqaiq and Churais

The attack on Abqaiq and Churais in Saudi Arabia in September 2019 marks another military event in the region that year.

Web links

Commons : Tensions in the Gulf of Oman 2019  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
 Wikinews: Iran denies responsibility for tanker attack in Gulf of Oman  - News

Individual evidence

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