https://apnews.com/d67714ab8ac344a3b3af19cca1c20192

Two oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz were damaged in suspected attacks on Thursday, leaving one ablaze and the other adrift and forcing sailors to evacuate in the latest mysterious incident involving tankers amid heightened tensions between the U.S and Iran.

The U.S. Navy, which rushed in to assist the stricken vessels, and the ship’s owners offered no immediate explanation on what weapon caused the damage to the MT Front Altair and the Kokuka Courageous in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Iran, though all believed the ships had been targeted in an attack. The Front Altair burned for hours afterward, charring half of one of the vessel’s sides and sending thick black smoke into the sky.

Last month, the U.S. alleged that Iran used limpet mines to attack four oil tankers off the nearby Emirati port of Fujairah. Iran denied being involved, but the incidents came as Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen also have launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, including on oil infrastructure.

Meanwhile in Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that while Tehran doesn’t seek nuclear weapons, “America could not do anything” to stop Iran if it did.

The comments came during a one-on-one meeting capping Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s high-stakes visit in Tehran that sought to ease Iran-U.S. tensions, suggested the efforts had failed.

>>6740650

>>6740729

>>6740822

>real-life knight of the "I'll be fair but I'll also murder you if you make me" table

>>6741078

https://apnews.com/c290fd44dace4fe7b836110de77c1894

25 officers injured in Memphis after marshals kill fugitive

Armed officers and an angry crowd faced off after a black man was fatally shot in a confrontation with U.S. marshals in a working-class Memphis neighborhood.

People in the crowd threw rocks and bricks, with 25 officers suffering mostly minor injuries during the tense clash Wednesday night in the Frayser community in north Memphis. Officers cordoned off several blocks near the scene. By 11 p.m., officers had used tear gas and most of the crowd dispersed, police director Michael Rallings said at a Thursday morning at a news conference. Three people were arrested.

Officers on horseback patrolled the area, and lines of police cars with flashing blue lights were parked along the street. An ambulance could be seen at the outer edge of the scene. A helicopter flew overhead as police cars trickled away. Residential streets were blocked, and a heavy police presence remained in the area Thursday.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Keli McAlister said the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force went to a Frayser home to look for a suspect with felony warrants. Marshals saw the man get into a vehicle and then proceed to ram task force vehicles several times before exiting with a weapon, McAlister said. Marshals then opened fire, killing the man who died at the scene. McAlister did not say how many marshals fired or how many times the man was shot.

https://apnews.com/e1d07a0fe2ba42acb41a05089137554b

Trump: US sending 1,000 more troops to ally Poland

The United States will send 1,000 more troops to Poland as part of a growing security and economic partnership between the two countries, President Donald Trump said Wednesday. He and Polish President Andrzej Duda differed over Russia’s intentions toward the U.S. ally.

At a time of ongoing worries about Russian military activity, Duda said he wanted Russia to be a friend of Poland even as he recounted his country’s long history of conflict with Moscow.

“We would like Russia to be our friend, but unfortunately, Russia again is showing its very unkind, unpleasant imperial face,” Duda said, noting its attacks on Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014. He spoke through a translator during a news conference with Trump in the White House Rose Garden, where they discussed details of the military deal.

Trump, who has a history of appearing to defer to Russia, seemed to downplay Duda’s concerns.

“I hope that Poland is going to have a great relationship with Russia. I think it’s possible. I really do,” Trump said. “I think because of what you’ve done, and the strength, and maybe we help also, because of what we’re doing and doing for Poland.

“But I hope Poland is going to have a great relationship with Russia. I hope we’re going to have a great relationship with Russia, and by the way, China and many other countries,” he said.

Trump said he likely will make his second visit to Poland as president in September, the 80th anniversary of the invasion by Nazi Germany in 1939 that set off World War II. And he said he was thinking about allowing Poland to participate in a State Department program that allows its citizens to visit the U.S. for tourism or business without obtaining a visa, but that more progress was needed before a final decision.

Polish leaders had hoped to land a permanent U.S. base in their country that they said could be called “Fort Trump,” but the agreement announced Wednesday fell short of that. It includes just the addition of about 1,000 troops and a squadron of Reaper drones for intelligence purposes.

Trump said the Polish government will pay for the infrastructure to support the troops. The service members will be added to an existing force of about 4,500 U.S. troops that rotate in and out of Poland.

Trump said he probably would shift some U.S. service members from Germany, where tens of thousands have been based for a “long, long time,” or from elsewhere in Europe. He offered no timetable for when the additional military personnel would begin arriving in Poland.

Trump also hailed Poland’s decision to buy more than 30 F-35 joint strike fighter jets from the U.S. In recognition of that purchase, a single F-35 made two passes over the White House on a sunny afternoon as Trump, Duda and their wives watched from the lawn. Duda looked up and waved at the passing jet.

Duda also invoked Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan as he thanked the president for his interest in Poland.

In the Oval Office, Trump said he had no concerns about backsliding on democracy in Poland. Duda denied there were problems, saying “everything is excellent.” Critics have accused the Polish government of taking steps to undermine the judiciary and the news media.

Trump’s decision to increase the U.S. military presence in Poland was welcomed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “This shows the strong commitment of the US to European security & the strength of the transatlantic bond,” he said in a tweet.

The U.S. resumed increasing its military activity in Europe in concert with NATO allies following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014. That includes stationing four multinational battalion-size battlegroups in alliance members Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, led respectively by the U.S., Britain, Canada and Germany.

The Eastern European nations have reached out to the U.S. and NATO for greater protection, fearing becoming the next target of Russia’s military advance.

The increase in U.S. forces in the region also reflects America’s new national defense strategy that declares great-power competition with China and Russia as a top priority.