PERSIAN GULF WAR 2

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01070R000201200010-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 10, 2008
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: May 16, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2008/12/10: CIA-RDP88-01070R000201200010-4
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
16 May 1984
PERSIAN GULF MCWETHY: This is John McWethy in Washington. U.S.
WAR 2 Government sources say the tanker was outside of Saudi
territorial waters when it was attacked by two
American-made F-4 Phantoms belonging to Iran. Military
sources say an American AWACS early-warning plane,
operating out of Saudi Arabia, monitored the whole thing
on radar. The Iranian fighters flew across the Persian
Gulf, circled the Saudi tanker, apparently wanting to make
sure it was the right ship, then attacked. U.S. sources
say the Saudi air force scrambled F-15s, but they arrived
at the scene too late to do anything. Analysts are not
sure if the Saudis got to the scene late because it all
happened so fast or because they had no desire to actually
tangle with Iran. Officials say the last thing Saudi
Arabian wants to do is get drawn into a war with Iran.
And to avoid such a thing, some analysts believe the
Saudis are probably willing to lose a few tankers. The
U.S. government has quietly put the intelligence community
on alert. And the five American Navy ships in the Persian
Gulf are monitoring as much activity as they can.
Administration officials concede, however, that beyond
watching, there is little the U.S. can do. John McWethy,
ABC News, the Pentagon.
Approved For Release 2008/12/10: CIA-RDP88-01070R000201200010-4