International leaders clash over Oman oil tanker attacks

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has hit back at Jeremy Corbyn after the Labour leader accused the Government of fuelling conflict with Iran.

Corbyn said the UK should not be stoking a military escalation in the Gulf without "credible evidence" Iran was behind the attacks on two oil tankers which dramatically heightened tensions in the region.

A day after explosions blew holes in two oil tankers just outside Iran's territorial waters, rattling international oil markets, Washington seemed caught between pressure to punish Iran and reassure its Gulf Arab allies without drawing the US closer to war.

President Donald Trump has blamed Iran for the attacks near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iran, supported by allies Turkey and Russia, denied any involvement in the attacks and accused Washington of waging an "Iranophobic campaign" of economic warfare.

In response to Corbyn’s comments, Hunt – who has said it was "almost certain" Tehran was behind the attacks – accused the Labour leader of persistently failing to stand up for British interests and British allies.

"Pathetic and predictable," he tweeted. "From Salisbury to the Middle East, why can he never bring himself to back British allies, British intelligence or British interests?"

In a statement, the Foreign Office said "no other state or non-state actor could plausibly have been responsible" for the incident.

Corbyn tweeted: "Britain should act to ease tensions in the Gulf, not fuel a military escalation that began with US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement.

"Without credible evidence about the tanker attacks, the Government's rhetoric will only increase the threat of war."

Corbyn's comments were echoed by shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, who said US hardliners like national security adviser John Bolton were trying to engineer regime change in Iran.

"These are extremely dangerous developments and we really have to pause and think about where we are going next," she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

"The idea that we are going to get enmeshed in another war is really something we need to think about very carefully. What we do not want is British forces being drawn into a conflict of that size.

"We have got to give up on this idea that if the United States decides to go into war - especially one engineered by the likes of John Bolton and the neo-cons - we have to stop and say there are times when we just don't follow.

"Harold Wilson did that with Vietnam and said 'no' to the Americans. We made a dreadful mistake when it came to Iraq and we must not make the same mistake again."

Hunt said the UK's assessment "leads us to conclude that responsibility for the attacks almost certainly lies with Iran".

"These latest attacks build on a pattern of destabilising Iranian behaviour and pose a serious danger to the region," he said.

The US has sought to back up its claims, releasing footage on Friday said to show an unexploded mine being removed from one of the tankers by Iranian special forces.

A US Navy team was also aboard one of the tankers, the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous, and collected forensic evidence.

Trump has since expressed hope that implicit threats to use force will bring Iran back to the negotiating table as the Pentagon considers beefing up defences in the Persian Gulf.

President Trump told Fox News that Iran "did do it".

"I guess one of the mines didn't explode and it's probably got essentially Iran written all over it," he said.

By pointing the finger at Iran, Trump is keeping a public spotlight on an adversary he accuses of terrorism but has also invited to negotiate.

Iran has shown little sign of backing down, creating uncertainty about how far the Trump administration can go with its campaign of increasing pressure through sanctions.

Apparently alluding to the US video, Trump said Iran's culpability had been "exposed".

He did not say what he intended to do about it but suggested "very tough" US sanctions, including efforts to strangle Iranian oil revenues, would have the desired effect.

He added: "They've been told in very strong terms we want to get them back to the table."

Just a day earlier, the US president took the opposite view, tweeting that it was "too soon to even think about making a deal" with Iran's leaders. "They are not ready, and neither are we!"