“At 4:10pm local time [00:10 GMT] an IRGC Gashti Class patrol boat approached the M/T Kokuka Courageous and was observed and recorded removing the unexploded limpet mine from the M/T Kokuka Courageous,” Navy Captain Bill Urban, a spokesman for the US military’s Central Command, said in a statement late on Thursday.
Washington believes the images clearly show members of the Iranian elite force approaching the Japanese vessel and removing what the US claims is a limpet mine.
However, on Friday, the Japanese operator of one of the tankers said crew members saw “flying objects” before the explosion.
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