Japanese Owner Of Attacked Tanker Contradicts Original US Reports Over Gulf Of Oman

The explosions that rocked a pair of tankers in the Gulf of Oman has served to only escalate tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with the Trump Administration blaming the attack on Tehran. However, new information provides a new wrinkle in an already unstable situation.

This new information comes from Yutaka Katada, president of Kokaku Sangyo Co. and owner of one of the two tankers attacked.

“We received reports that something flew towards the ship,” he said during a press conference on Friday. “The place where the projectile landed was significantly higher than the water level, so we are absolutely sure that this wasn’t a torpedo. I do not think there was a time bomb or an object attached to the side of the ship.”

Katada’s report stands in stark contrast to the Trump Administration’s, who have insisted it was a torpedo or mine that originated from Iran. To support their claims, U.S. Central Command released a video of what they claimed was an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps patrol removing an undetonated mine from one of the tankers.

Iranian officials have dismissed these claims, with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif saying that the accusation came without “a shred of factual or circumstantial evidence.”

Japan, itself, had condemned the attacks and has promised to aid allies in investigating what happened. However, the Japanese Foreign Ministry stopped short of condemning Iran as the attack came on the heels of a trip by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Iran in an attempt to help sooth tensions between Iran and the U.S.