On May 12, four oil tankers — two Saudi, one Norwegian and one Emirati — were damaged while in the UAE's exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of Oman. The US is calling the damage sabotage.
"These were efforts by the Iranians to raise the price of crude oil throughout the world," Pompeo told reporters before leaving for a trip to Europe, Reuters reported.
Pompeo last week told CNBC that the Trump administration has taken measures to ensure that oil prices don't spike as the US tries to bring Iran's crude exports to zero.
Speaking Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, US National Security Adviser John Bolton also accused Iran of attacking the tankers.
"It's clear that Iran is behind the Fujairah attack. Who else would you think would be doing it? Someone from Nepal?" Bolton told journalists at a press briefing at the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi. One day later, Bolton stated that evidence that Iran committed the attacks would be presented to the United Nations Security Council next week.
Since US President Donald Trump took office, the US has announced a variety of sanctions against Iran, lately targeting the country's oil industry in an effort to completely block Iran from exporting oil. The Trump administration also withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.
