American video ‘not enough’ to blame Iran for tanker attacks – German FM

A video released by the US is “not enough” to prove Iranian involvement in a series of oil tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said.

The Pentagon released a blurry video earlier on Friday, which purportedly showed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) removing an unexploded limpet mine from the hull of the ‘Kokuka Courageous,’ one of two vessels attacked on Thursday.

Though Washington officials rushed to blame Iran for the attack, other countries have been more cautious. Speaking to reporters in Norway on Friday, Maas said he remains skeptical.

“The video is not enough. We can understand what is being shown, sure, but to make a final assessment, this is not enough for me,” he said.

President Donald Trump and Maas’ American counterpart, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have both pointed the finger of blame at Tehran. Speaking on Fox News on Friday morning, Trump said that evidence gathered by the US shows the attack had “Iran written all over it.”

Although the US has not made any moves in response, Trump said: “We’re not going to take it lightly.”

Since taking office in 2017, Trump has made little secret of his animosity towards Iran, and has made little effort to avoid confrontation with its leaders. Trump’s European allies, however, have been more cautious in their relations with the Islamic Republic. Germany remains in favor of the 2015 JCPOA, or Iran nuclear deal, from which Trump withdrew last year.

Despite this, Maas and a host of EU officials and leaders have been criticized in Iran for their inability to help the country to circumvent US economic sanctions.

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