-The US Central Command released this video that,
it claims, showed an Iranian patrol boat
removing an unexploded limpet mine
from the side of a Japanese tanker.
Two petrochemical tankers, the Front Altair,
owned by a Norwegian shipping company;
and the Kokuka Courageous,
owned by a Japanese shipping company;
were apparently attacked in broad daylight on June
13th near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Both vessels were in international waters
in the Gulf of Oman,
approximately 10 nautical miles apart
at the time of the distress calls.
US officials say the video shows conclusively
Iran was behind the attacks.
The Post raised the contrast and brightness
on the original footage for clarity.
It appears to have been recorded from a surveillance aircraft,
such as the P-8 Poseidon,
which was dispatched to the area after the incident.
The US claims an Iranian patrol boat
approached the Kokuka Courageous at around 4:10 pm local time.
The markings on the side of the tanker
appear to match other images of the Kokuka.
The patrol boat seems to match images
and video of the fast-attack boats
used by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps.
-You clearly see, from the video,
that the vessel was an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps,
what they call a fast inshore attack craft.
So, basically, it looks very much
like a commercial fast boat in there,
but theirs also have some guns on it.
-The patrol boat was apparently observed
removing what the US says was an unexploded limpet mine.
The US also released this photo, taken from the USS Bainbridge,
showing damage to the side of the Kokuka
and what it said what likely the unexploded mine.
The location of the alleged mine in the photo
appears to be in the vicinity
of where the object was removed in the video.
-Most likely that it is a limpet mine,
seeing the damage that was there earlier.
I'm sure forensic evidence,
the US Navy will investigate the damage to the hull.
They will probably identify that it was a limpet mine
that caused the other damage to the Japanese vessel.
A limpet mine is any kind of mine.
They were first used in World War II by the British.
So, usually, it's a magnetic mine
that can be placed on the hull of a ship.
And, usually, they're designed not to sink the ship
'cause they're not that large an explosive,
like more of a floating mine would be.
But they're used to cause damage to the ship
to potentially disable it, as we saw in this case,
where it disabled both vehicles, caused a fire in one.
Caused the crew to evacuate or hindered
its further movement.
They've used these in the past.
In the early 2000s, there was a case of Iranians
using limpet mines before to damage ships
and then, obviously, there was a lot of use of the Iranians
with mines back in the late 1980s,
during the Tanker Wars,
as part of the Iraq-Iran War at the time.
-While it appears an object was removed
from the ship in the video,
The Post was unable to verify this independently.
-Some may question why they placed it above the waterline,
not closer to, to cause flooding.
I think the Iranians, in this case,
as trying to damage and send warnings,
you know, hinder these tanker shipments through the area
and not, you know, sink them or cause massive oil spills
that would cause more environmental concerns
and a bigger issue in the region.
-Iran has denied any involvement in the attacks.
The president of the Japanese shipping company
that owns the Kokuka said crewmembers reported being hit
by a "flying object,"
contradicting the US military's account of mines.
-If it's between whether it was an explosion
or penetrating bullet,
I have a feeling it is a penetrating bullet.
If it was an explosion,
there would be damage in different places,
but this is just an assumption or a guess.
-Another, similar assault
on tankers took place in the Persian Gulf on May 12th.
At a UN Security Council briefing in early June,
the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Norway said
it was highly likely that a "state actor"
had used limpet mines in those attacks.
The countries did not say Iran was responsible.