Limpet mines used in tanker attacks 'strikingly' like Iran's, US says

Pieces of mines recovered after attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman "strikingly" resemble those belonging to Iran, the US navy has said.

Officials showed debris and a magnet recovered, they said, from the tanker Kokuka Courageous to reporters at the US navy's 5th Fleet base near Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Iran's Revolutionary Guard left them behind when they removed an unexploded limpet mine after the attack, the officials claim.

Commander Sean Kido, of the US Navy's 5th Fleet, said the damage done to the vessel on Thursday was "not consistent with an external flying object hitting the ship".

That contradicts the ship's owner, which quoted eyewitnesses aboard who saw two "flying objects" before the 13 June attack.

The US military previously released images it said showed Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) removing an unexploded limpet mine from the Kokuka Courageous tanker.

Mr Kido, an explosives expert, added that navy investigators have recovered fingerprints and a hand print from the side of the ship after the attack.

The tanker, along with the Norwegian-owned Front Altair, were hit by explosions and towed to the Emirati coast by US naval authorities.

Tehran has denied any involvement in both attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, a major transit route for global oil supplies.

That has not stopped the White House and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from pinning the blame firmly on the Islamic regime.

On Tuesday, Washington announced it was sending another 1,000 troops to the Middle East in response to what it described as "hostile behaviour" by Iranian forces.

The US has, however, made it clear it does not want war.

Tensions with Tehran have been high since Donald Trump came to office, with the US president imposing harsh sanctions and withdrawing the US from the Iran nuclear treaty put together by his predecessor Barack Obama.

Last month, four tankers, two from Saudi Arabia and one each from Norway and the UAE, were damaged by explosions within the UAE's territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of the emirate of Fujairah.