Warning to Japan? Tanker attacks stoke speculation

June 14, 2019

Jerusalem--Thursday's attacks on two tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, including one operated by a Japanese firm, stoked speculation over the perpetrators and reasons, as they coincided with a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Some suggest that the attacks were likely aimed at sending some kind of warning to Tokyo. Japan is working to ease tensions between Iran and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which have been escalating since Washington's withdrawal last year from the 2015 nuclear deal, signed between Iran and six major countries including the United States.

In its Wednesday edition, an Iranian newspaper leaning toward conservative hard-liners greeted Abe, who arrived in Tehran on the day to kick off his closely watched visit, with a headline in English and Persian that apparently referred to the United States.

The headline, reading "How Can You Trust A War Criminal, Mr. Abe?" went with a picture of a mushroom cloud, reminding readers of the U.S. atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, in the closing days of World War II.

The message apparently suggested that there is a sense of distrust of Abe among Iranian conservative hard-liners who have strong anti-U.S. sentiment.

In a telephone interview with Jiji Press, Meir Javedanfar, an Iran expert in Israel, has claimed that Tehran is responsible for the tanker attacks.

If Tehran knew that one of the tankers is related to Japan, that would mean the attacks were aimed at indicating that the Iranian regime regards Abe as a proxy of U.S. President Donald Trump and does not trust the Japanese leader, said Javedanfar, who is from Iran.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter that the attacks on the tankers occurred while Abe was meeting with Khamenei for "extensive and friendly talks."

Khamenei is respected by conservative hard-liners in Iran. It may not be reasonable to think that the attacks were done by conservative hard-liners, because such an act could damage the image of the Iranian supreme leader, analysts said.

If Iran is not responsible for the attacks, a third party eager to drive a wedge between Iran and Japan, which have traditional friendship, may have been involved, with the aim of warning that Tokyo should distance itself from Tehran, they said.

After the meeting with Abe on Thursday, Khamenei tweeted, "I don't consider Trump a person deserving to exchange messages with," clearly showing his intent to reject dialogue with the U.S. leader.

With no immediate prospect of the United States easing sanctions on Iran, tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman are likely to linger. Jiji Press