President Trump has described Iran as a “nation of terror”, pinning the blame on Tehran for attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
Iran has flatly denied any involvement, but after US Central Command produced video footage it claimed showed Iranian special forces removing an unexploded mine from the side of a Japanese tanker.
Mr Trump claimed their culpability had been “exposed”.
Iran’s President Rouhani accused the US of being a “serious threat to stability in the Middle East”.