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The Japanese owner of the Kokuka Courageous, one of two oil tankers targeted near the Strait of Hormuz, said Friday that sailors on board saw "flying objects" just before it was hit, suggesting the vessel wasn't damaged by mines. That account contradicts what the U.S. military said as it released a video Friday it said shows Iranian forces removing an unexploded limpet mine from one of the two ships that were hit.

U.S. officials have told Fox News that the crew of one of the two stricken oil tankers damaged outside the Persian Gulf were detained by the Iranians Thursday after first being rescued by another merchant vessel. The crew of the Front Altair was first rescued by the Hyundai Dubai, according to U.S. officials, but Iranian gunboats quickly surrounded the ship and demanded the crew be turned over. The captain ultimately relented and ordered his crew to surrender. The 23 crew members are now being held in Iran. It’s not immediately clear what the next steps are. Pictures and footage from...

The U.S. military’s Central Command has released a video and some still photographs on June 14 that it says shows Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) removing an unexploded limpet mine from one of the oil tankers that was targeted near the strategic Strait of Hormuz on June 13, suggesting that Iran sought to remove evidence of its involvement from the scene. U.S. Central Command spokesman Bill Urban released the black-and-white footage and two still color photographs. The military says the video shows an IRGC Gashti Class patrol boat approaching the Kokuka Courageous “and was observed and recorded removing (an) unexploded...

Many analysts have argued that the rising tensions between the United States and Iran in the Persian Gulf region, especially the claims by the United States that Iran is increasing its military capabilities bear disturbing similarities to the run up to the Iraq war in 2002 and 2003, when the Bush administration falsely hyped Iraq’s pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. While this analogy may be correct, the events are actually more similar to the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which occurred in August 1964—something I remember well. On August 2, 1964, the destroyer Maddox—which was part of a carrier battle...

Iran’s Al-Alam television network cited local sources in Oman as saying that two successive explosions were heard in the Sea of Oman on Thursday morning. The sources said the blasts were caused by “attacks” on the tankers, according to the report. Local Pakistani sources also said the giant tankers had sent distress calls to the sea’s littoral states, the report added.

The situation remains extremely fluid at this time and details are bound to morph in the coming hours, but it seems clear that some sort of maritime incident has occurred in the Sea Of Oman. Reports indicate that at least one tanker is on fire and the UK Maritime Trade Operations group put out a safety bulletin warning of an incident occurring in the Gulf Of Oman and urging extreme caution to mariners operating in the area. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Front Altair appears to be the ship on fire, while reports also state that the Panama-flagged tanker Kokuka Courageous...

Lots of differing accounts from different media sources. Some say the tankers were attacked, a couple say “ torpedoed”. Bottom line, there was an incident nvolving two large oil tankers, one is on fire.

Two tankers have been targeted this morning while transiting waters near to Fujairah. Frontline’s fully laden LR 2Front Altair was hit by surface attacks, and an enormous fire ensued forcing the crew to abandon ship. The crew were safely picked up by nearby general cargoship, Hyundai Dubai. Bernhard Schulte’s chemical tanker Kokuka Courageous was also hit.

DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump blamed Iran on Friday for attacks on two oil tankers at the entrance to the Gulf despite Tehran’s denials, stoking fears of a confrontation in the vital oil shipping route.Iran has dismissed earlier U.S. charges that it was behind Thursday’s attacks that crippled two tankers and has previously threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of globally consumed oil passes, if its oil exports were halted. Thursday’s blasts followed a similar attacks a month earlier on four tankers, which Washington also blamed on Tehran. Asked how he planned to...