What’s Going On in the Gulf? (AUDIO INTERVIEW)

There has been another dangerous escalation in the Gulf, with two more oil tankers being attacked on Thursday just southeast of the Strait of Hormuz, not far from where four commercial vessels were sabotaged and damaged last month.

The attacks come amid spiralling tensions not only between Tehran and Washington, but between Iran and most of the Gulf nations, especially Saudi Arabia, which has been leading a coalition against Iranian-supported Houthi rebels in Yemen.

At the time of posting, no one has claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, though the initial findings of a five-nation investigation delivered to the United Nations points to the likelihood that a state actor – with no names mentioned – was behind last month’s incidents.

The Media Line spoke with Negar Mortazavi. She is an Iranian-American journalist based in Washington who covers Iran in English and Farsi, and a consulting editor at the Independent newspaper. She writes, reports and tweets on Iran extensively.