[13][14] In response, Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, which could have a marked effect on the global oil market.

[15][16] Iran's oil production has hit a historic low as a result of sanctions; yet Saudi Arabia maintained supplies, leaving prices reasonably stable.

"[18] U.S. President Donald Trump offered to hold talks with Iran regarding their nuclear program and said he was willing to make a deal to remove sanctions and help fix their economy.

[23][24] On 5 May 2019, National Security Advisor John R. Bolton announced that the U.S. was deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and four B-52 bombers to the Middle East to "send a clear and unmistakable message" to Iran following intelligence reports of an Iranian plot to attack U.S. forces in the region.

[25][26] On 10 May 2019, The Pentagon announced the deployment of USS Arlington and a battery of Patriot missiles to join their military forces in the Gulf of Oman region.

Front Altair was carrying naphtha from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and was traveling from Ruwais in the United Arab Emirates to Taiwan.

[36] According to the U.S. military, at 03:45 GMT (06:45 local time), a modified SA-7 surface to air missile was fired at the American drone, missing its target by approximately 1 km (0.62 mi).

[8] Iranian News Agency (IRNA) initially reported that Front Altair had sunk, but the statement was later denied by a Frontline spokesman.

[44][45] According to US intelligence reports, shortly after the crews were evacuated, Iranian military boats surrounded the rescue ships and told them to hand over the mariners into their custody.

[54] The New York Times reported that experts believe that Iran would carry out such an attack to hit back at the United States while maintaining enough ambiguity to avoid a direct counterattack.

[57] On 13 June, the U.S. military released a video which it said shows members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded mine from the side of Kokuka Courageous at 4.10pm local time.

[62] On 14 June, the head of the company that owns Kokuka Courageous, Yutaka Katada, stated that the crew members "are saying that they were hit by a flying object.

"[65][66] Also on 14 June, the Tasnim News Agency reported that Hormozgan Province's port director stated that early investigations indicated that the fires broke out due to technical reasons and that there is no proof that an external object hit either ship.

"[70] Analyst Anthony Cordesman raised "the possibility that ISIS (Daesh) carried out the attack as trigger to turn two enemies – the United States and Iran – against each other.

"[71] On 17 June, the Pentagon released new images which, according to it, were taken from an MH-60R Navy surveillance helicopter of the aftermath of alleged Iranian attack on tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

[72] After news of the incident, the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted "Suspicious doesn't begin to describe what likely transpired this morning.

"[74][75] Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said that the United States may have carried out false flag operations against the oil tankers.

"[77] Iran's mission to the United Nations responded to the U.S. accusation by saying that the Iranian government "categorically rejects" the U.S. claim that it was responsible for the attacks and condemned it "in the strongest possible terms".

[84] On 17 June, Maariv reported that diplomatic sources at the United Nations Headquarters revealed to the newspaper an American plan to carry out a tactical assault against Iran – namely, aerial bombardment of an Iranian facility related to its nuclear program.

[5] The office released another statement that "It is almost certain that a branch of the Iranian military – the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – attacked the two tankers on 13 June.

[70] Responding to the video released by the US Central Command, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas remarked that "to make a final assessment, this is not enough for me".

[95] General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani during an SCO meeting that China would promote ties with Iran regardless of developments from the incident.

[97] Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned "against hasty conclusions, against attempts to lay the blame at the door of those we don't like".

[99] After reviewing the video evidence, a source close to Abe said "These are not definite proof that it's Iran" behind the attacks, and "even if it's the United States that makes the assertion, we cannot simply say we believe it".

[10] The United Nations Security Council met on 13 June in a closed door meeting with a briefing by US acting Ambassador regarding Washington's assessment that Iran was responsible for the suspected attack on two tankers in the strategic sea lane.

[100][101] Paulo d'Amico, the chairman of the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, expressed concerns for the safety of other vessels in the region and their crews.

[103] After meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres at UN headquarters in New York on 14 June, Aboul Gheit also stated “We believe that responsibilities need to be clearly defined...