Corbyn warns UK against blaming Iran sans ‘credible evidence’

RAWALPINDI: The leader of the UK opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has asked the government not to blame Iran for attacks on two oil tankers in the Persian Gulf without “credible evidence.”

On Thursday morning, two large oil tankers, one confirmed as Japanese traveling through the Sea of Oman, came under attack.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) also said that it was “almost certain” that “a branch of the Iranian military attacked the two tankers on 13 June.”

Corbyn reacted to that saying, “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.”

The Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that Corbyn’s comment is “pathetic and predictable.” “From Salisbury to the Middle East, why can he never bring himself to back British allies, British intelligence or British interests?” said Hunt, reported international media.

The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, however, accused the US of “carrying out an aggressive policy and posing a serious threat to regional stability.”

The shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said Saturday that the UK should not be “enmeshed in a war.” “These are extremely dangerous developments and we really have to pause and think about where we are going next,” she told BBC Radio 4.