Wednesday, September 18, 2019
"We are not aware of any
information that points to Iran," said Japanese defense minister Taro
Kono.
Japanese Defense Minister Taro
Kono told
reporters Wednesday that he has not seen any intelligence indicating
Iran was behind the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities over the weekend,
contradicting Saudi and Trump administration claims
about the incident.
"We are not aware of any
information that points to Iran," Kono said during a press briefing.
"We believe the Houthis carried out the attack based on the statement
claiming responsibility."
The only evidence the Trump
administration has released to substantiate its claim of Iranian responsibility
are satellite photos that experts said are not clear enough to assign blame.
Ret. Gen. Mark Hertling, a CNN intelligence analyst, said the
images "really don't show anything, other than pretty good accuracy on the
strike of the oil tanks."
Kono said Japan, an ally of
both Iran and the U.S., is still in the process of determining who was behind
the attacks, which were allegedly carried out by drones.
"Given Japan's strong
ties with the U.S. based on the U.S.-Japan Alliance, and the relationship of
trust that Japan has with various countries located in the Middle East, Japan
is in a position to fulfill a mediating role," said Kono.
The defense minister's
statement is the second time this year Japan has contradicted the Trump
administration's attempt to pin an attack on Iran with insufficient evidence.
In June, as Common Dreams reported,
the Trump administration blamed Iran for an explosion that damaged a Japanese
oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman. Yutaka Katada, president of the Japanese
company that owns the tanker, publicly disputed the White House's account of
the attack.
Japan is not the only major
nation to express skepticism about the Trump administration's rush to blame
Iran for the attacks, which briefly paralyzed Saudi oil production and sent
crude prices soaring.
French Foreign Minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian said Tuesday
that he is not aware of evidence demonstrating Iranian involvement, despite
claims by U.S. and Saudi officials.
"Up to now France doesn't
have proof permitting it to say that these drones came from such and such a
place, and I don't know if anyone has proof," said Le Drian. "We need
a strategy of de-escalation for the area, and any move that goes against this
de-escalation would be a bad move for the situation in the region."
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