US Under Secretary Briefed Senate Republicans On Anti-Iran Pressure Campaign - State Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th June, 2019) US Under Secretary of State David Hale briefed Republican senators on the White House's pressure campaign against Iran, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a readout.

"During its June 18 policy lunch, Under Secretary Hale discussed Iranian threats in the middle East with the Senate Republican Conference," Ortagus said on Tuesday. "The Under Secretary briefed the Conference on the Administration's economic and political pressure campaign against Iran's destabilizing behavior, including our diplomatic engagement with partners around the world to protect freedom of international navigation. These efforts will help deter Iran from escalating its irresponsible and dangerous actions.

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On Monday, acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the United States is deploying an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East after the recent attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz. While the causes of the incident remain unknown, the United States claimed that Iran sabotaged the vessels.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif accused the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia of coordinating a campaign to falsely blame Iran for the attacks.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has warned against attempts to lay blame on Iran for the tanker attacks before any thorough investigation is finished.