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szdaily -> World -> 
US sending 1,000 more troops to Mideast
    2019-06-19  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

THE United States ratcheted up pressure on Iran on Monday, announcing the deployment of 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East and producing new photographs it said showed Tehran was behind an attack on a tanker ship.

The twin moves came as Iran set a 10-day countdown for world powers to fulfill their commitments under a nuclear deal abandoned by the United States, saying it will otherwise surpass its uranium stockpile limit mandated by the accord.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated ever since the U.S. quit the deal, with Washington bolstering its military presence in the region and blacklisting Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.

On Monday, Washington further upped the ante.

“I have authorized approximately 1,000 additional troops for defensive purposes to address air, naval, and ground-based threats in the Middle East,” acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan said in a statement.

“The recent Iranian attacks validate the reliable, credible intelligence we have received on hostile behavior by Iranian forces and their proxy groups that threaten United States personnel and interests across the region,” Shanahan said.

The United States has blamed Iran for last week’s attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a charge Tehran denies as “baseless.”

The Pentagon released new images Monday that it said showed Iran was behind the attack on one of the ships.

The U.S. argument centers on an unexploded limpet mine on the Kokuka Courageous tanker ship it says was removed by Iranians on a patrol boat.

“Iran is responsible for the attack based on video evidence and the resources and proficiency needed to quickly remove the unexploded limpet mine,” the Pentagon said in a statement accompanying the imagery.

The U.S. released a grainy black and white video last week it said showed the Iranians removing the mine, but has not provided an explanation for why they allegedly did so while the U.S. military was in the area.

The images released Monday show the site where the unexploded mine was allegedly attached, the Iranians on a patrol boat who are said to have removed it, and damage from another device that did explode.

In Iran, the country’s atomic energy organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi announced Monday that the country would soon pass the amount of enriched uranium allowed under the nuclear deal.

Speaking in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said he regretted Tehran’s latest announcements, urging it “to behave in a way that is patient and responsible.”

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas rejected the ultimatum and insisted Tehran stick to its commitments under the deal.   (SD-Agencies)

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