U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Bill Urban released a timeline and photographs suggesting that the U.S. military observed Iranian vessels returning to the tanker to retrieve the unexploded mine, The Washington Post reported.
“At 4:10 p.m. local time an IRGC Gashti Class patrol boat approached the M/T Kokuka Courageous and was observed and recorded removing the unexploded limpet mine” from the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous, Urban said, according to the Post.