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(Updated: 2:39 PM)

Topline: Two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, with U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo saying Iran is behind the attacks, calling them “a threat to international peace and security.”

• “Iran is lashing out because the regime wants our successful maximum pressure campaign lifted,” said Pompeo at the Department of State on Thursday.
• Oil prices spiked 4% in response to the attacks.
• 43 crew members were evacuated from Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous and Norwegian-owned Front Altair.
• The attacks occurred in the Strait of Hormuz, a known chokepoint for the 40% of the global oil supply that travels through the strait.
• Last month in the region, four oil tankers were attacked with what the U.S. alleges are Iranian mines, inflaming tensions between Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said Iran was “almost certainly” responsible for the May attacks.

Thursday’s attacks coincided with a visit to Tehran by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, a diplomatic effort to ease tensions between the U.S. and Iran, according to Bloomberg. Abe has left Tehran, according to the Associated Press.

The tankers’ cargoes are reportedly safe, with no leaks or spills into the gulf.

International Response: Iran foreign minister, Javad Zarif, tweeted that the incident was “suspicious,” while United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres condemned the attacks, adding “If there is something the world cannot afford, it is a major confrontation in the Gulf region.” France’s foreign affairs ministry also condemned the attacks, referring to them as a “disturbing incident” and calling on “all the actors concerned, with whom we are in constant contact, to show restraint and de-escalation.”

Key Background: Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran last year after retreating from a 2015 deal designed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, with a goal of forcing Iran to scale back its military program and splinter militias. Trump tightened Iran’s oil sanctions last month, putting the Middle Eastern country on the brink of severe economic hardship. According to OPEC (of which Iran is a founding member), oil accounts for 48% of Iran’s exports and was worth over $57 billion in 2017.