[Iran Press TV] A political analyst tells Press TV that the recent alleged hijacking of a Panama-flagged tanker off the coast of Oman was a "false-flag" operation and "media hype" aimed at damaging Iran’s credit and undermining security in the Persian Gulf. "It was expected from the Israelis and Americans to start using [hues and] cries about the current affairs in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and go for ... false-flag hijacking and unreal stories in order to rally international support for their bid to win a UN Security Council resolution against Iran," Mostafa Khoshcheshm told Press TV in an interview on Wednesday.
He said that after their failure to rally support for a UN resolution following a ship incident off the Omani coast in the last few days, the US and its allies went for a false-flag operation to pressure the international community into joining them in pressuring Tehran.
Tensions have simmered in the region after a suspected drone attack last week on an Israeli-managed tanker off the Omani coast killed two crew members and was blamed on Iran by the United States, Israel and Britannia. Iran categorically denied the accusation.
Meanwhile,
...back at the pound, the little lost dog backed into the corner and showed its teeth. And what big teeth they were!...
maritime sources reported on Tuesday that the Panama-flagged asphalt/bitumen tanker Asphalt Princess had been seized off the coast of the United Arab Emirates at the opening of the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s busiest waterways, accusing Iran of being behind the incident.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations said on Wednesday that the potential hijack of the Panama-flagged vessel had ended.
The security agency said the ship was safe and boarders had left the tanker, without giving any further details in its warning notice.
Khoshcheshm said such efforts by the US and its allies in the Persian Gulf were only disturbing peace and security in the strategic region, which was to the detriment of regional countries.
"They are actually disturbing security in the Persian Gulf, that’s detrimental to the security of all the neighbors ... because the Israelis and the Americans have long proved that they don’t care for security in this region because they don’t live in this part of the world. So they don’t sustain much damage while other countries in the region are victims of such hues and cries," the analyst said.