vessel. If they see something suspicious, they could be authorized to drop a concussion hand grenade, which produces a large blast wave but little fragmentation.Since sound travels about four times faster in water than in air, the effects from such a weapon could travel quite far. Bill Urban, said showed a Revolutionary Guard “Gashti Class patrol boat” … The footage has significant gaps, cuts out at key moments and zooms in and out. Four hours later, "an IRGC Gashti Class patrol boat approached the M/T Kokuka Courageous and was observed and recorded removing the unexploded limpet mine from the M/T Kokuka Courageous," he said. “President Trump does not want war. The Trump administration on Friday intensified its effort to demonstrate Iran’s culpability in a spate of damaging oil tanker attacks, as dueling accusations from Washington and Tehran heightened concerns about military conflict.American officials said newly released intelligence, including a grainy video, illustrated Tehran’s role in twin explosions Thursday that crippled Japanese- and ­Norwegian-owned ships in the Gulf of Oman.But European nations appealed to all sides to de-escalate, as statements by the owner of one of the targeted ships appeared to challenge the U.S. account that Iranian naval boats had employed limpet mines.President Trump insisted that the video released by U.S. Central Command that appeared to show unidentified people in a small boat removing something from the side of a tanker — which officials said was an unexploded mine — was proof that Iran had carried out the attacks.“Well, Iran did do it,” he told Fox News. They say something came flying toward them, then there was an explosion, then there was a hole in the vessel. 16m The Pentagon confirms the CNN story, saying this about the oil tanker attacks: “At 4:10 p.m. local time an IRGC Gashti Class patrol boat approached the M The dimensions of the mine match. But U.S. officials could not yet say with certainty where the mines were manufactured or exactly how they were laid.“There’s not too many ways in which this can be done,” one official said.

These distinctive features match. And shipping data confirms it was 20 miles off the coast of Iran when it was attacked. A picture released by U.S. Central Command shows damage from an explosion (left) and a likely limpet mine, on the hull of the civilian vessel M/V Kokuka Courageous in the Gulf of Oman (Picture: US Navy/Handout via REUTERS) The first one became operational in 2010 and entered into service in the Persian gulf, and the second one (the Damavand) was completed in 2013 and was in service in the Caspian Sea until it sunk in January 2018. Denyer reported from Tokyo. Then some crew witnessed a second shot.”Katada added: “To put a bomb on the side is not something we are thinking. For more information In this report, we look at the 30 big tech themes for 2019, identifying winners and losers for each theme. If it’s between an explosion and a penetrating bullet, I have a feeling it is a penetrating bullet.

The accusation against Iran, he said, is “not only not funny . It connects energy supplies from Arab nations in the gulf, as well as Iran, to consumers around the globe.Oil prices rose by as much as 4.5 percent on Thursday before easing back. Tehran has denied the claim.Last month, the U.S. moved the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group early from the Mediterranean Sea to the Middle East based on intelligence “a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings,” Bolton said at the time.U.S.

The ocean tamps and helps reflect the explosive blast, which like all types of energy seeks the path of least resistance. Weapons experts say this could resemble limpet mines that are available to Iran, but there’s still no conclusive proof that they are Iranian. The up-armed IRIN patrol boats were displayed to the Iranian media during a ceremony held at Bandar Abbas on 1 December. But importantly, the pictures released by the U.S. lack the crucial piece of evidence: The moment the mine was placed. And the incident occurred in Iran’s area of responsibility. Modern limpet mines have been around at least since World War II, and most navies around the world likely have them in their arsenal.A United States Navy limpet attack on an enemy ship would be carried out underwater by a SEAL platoon. The price of the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate grade of crude oil closed Friday at $52.51 a barrel, up 0.44 percent.Trump, in another instance of his binary messaging on foreign affairs, appeared in his remarks to Fox to leave the door open to negotiations with Tehran while critizing its leadership.“They’ve been told in very strong terms . The recording shows a small boat approaching the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous tanker, before one of the men on it removes an object from the tanker's hull, believed to be a unexploded mine. It was standing room only in the smaller boat seen in the video.For safety’s sake, one would want to approach any unexploded munition with the absolute minimum number of people required to accomplish the mission. . The chevron pattern on the bow of the boat matches, and so does the center console. These attacks are a threat to international peace and security, a blatant assault on the freedom of navigation, and an unacceptable escalation of tension by Iran. The boat can be deployed in a wide range of missions, including patrolling, search-and-rescue, anti-sabotage and anti-terrorism. The boats will be operated by the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet and will be based at the Leningrad Naval Base.The Russian Ministry of Defence awarded a contract to OJSC Pella to build and deliver a series of eight patrol boats for the Russian Navy in June 2014.The first Raptor boat in the series was launched in June 2014 followed by the second in August 2014. “When the shell hit, it was above the water surface by quite a lot,” Katada said.