US State Sec Pompeo downplays Iran's claims of capturing CIA spies

The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has downplayed Iran's claims of capturing Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) spies, according to media reports. He has reportedly said that he cannot comment specifically but Iran has a history of lying.

Iranian media reported on Monday that Iran had captured 17 spies working for CIA and some had been sentenced to death. Iran announced in June that it had broken up an alleged CIA spy ring but it was unclear whether Monday's announcement was linked to the same case.

Regarding the detention of UK-flagged tanker in Iran, Pompeo is reported to have said the responsibility of the protection of British tankers falls on the UK.

Tensions between the US and Iran escalated in May after the US scrapped sanctions waivers for major importers of Iranian oil and sent a carrier strike group to the Middle East, citing an 'imminent threat' from Iran. In mid-May and then again in mid-June, multiple tankers were sabotaged off the coast of the UAE and in the Gulf of Oman. The US immediately blamed Iran for the sabotage. Tehran vocally denied the charges and accused Washington and its regional allies of attempting to exacerbate tensions in the region. On 20 June, Iran shot down a US spy drone it said was operating in its territory, with US President Donald Trump reportedly mulling airstrikes against the Islamic Republic before reconsidering at the last minute.

The CIA has a long history of clandestine operations in Iran going back to the 1953 coup d'état against the then Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh after his government attempted to nationalize the country's vast oil riches. The successful coup led to the return of the Shah, who ruled Iran for the next 25 years before being overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.