Saudi oil tanker, Amjad, one of two reportedly damaged in mysterious 'sabotage attacks'
Two Saudi Arabian oil tankers have been sabotaged, in attacks which the Gulf kingdom said posed a threat to the security of global oil supplies.
The United Arab Emirates reported that four commercial vessels were the targets of “sabotage attacks” near Fujairah emirate, just outside the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
Two of the ships have since been claimed by Saudi Arabia. The other is believed to be owned by a Norwegian company while Reuters reports the fourth was registered in the UAE.
The country’s foreign ministry has not elaborated on the nature of the alleged sabotage, or offered any indication as to who might be responsible, including whether it was carried out by individuals or a larger group or country.
“Adding to the sense of confusion, the UAE had on Sunday categorically denied reports on Iranian and pro-Hezbollah Lebanese social media of massive explosions in oil tankers off the coast of Fujairah, whose port on Monday was calm with no signs of damage,” reports The Guardian.
The Times says the attacks on maritime traffic in the Gulf “have fuelled tensions already heightened by the unravelling Iran nuclear deal and Washington’s moves beefing up its military presence in the region, citing unspecified threats from Iran”.
Relations between the US and Iran hit a new low earlier this month after Iran passed a new law declaring any US troops stationed in the Middle East “terrorists”.
Following the attacks oil prices rose by nearly 2% at one point, and many fear the vital choke point for the world’s oil supply could provide the match that sets the region alight.
In April, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened to “close” the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes, if it was prevented from using the waterway.
Last week, the US Maritime Administration issued an advisory warning that “Iran or its proxies” could be targeting commercial vessels and oil production infrastructure in the region.
Tehran has dismissed US allegations that there were “clear indications” of threats from Iran to US forces and maritime traffic but was nevertheless quick to distance itself from the incident yesterday.
The country’s foreign ministry called the attacks “worrisome and dreadful” and has demanded a full investigation into the matter. A senior Iranian lawmaker told Reuters “saboteurs from a third country” could be behind the attack, having previously said the incident showed the security of Gulf states was fragile.
“Sunni Muslim allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE have backed US sanctions against Shi’ite Iran, a fellow Opec producer but regional foe,” says the news agency. After the United States ended sanctions waivers that had allowed some nations to continue importing Iranian crude, Washington said Riyadh and Abu Dhabi would help compensate for any shortage in oil supply.
Monday's developments came as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cancelled a planned visit to Moscow and flew instead to Brussels for talks on Iran with his counterparts from the UK, Germany and France.
Before the meeting the British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, called for calm in the Gulf, as he said there was a danger of conflict erupting by accident.
“I think what we need is a period of calm, to make sure everyone understands what the other side is thinking and most of all we must make sure we don’t end up putting Iran back on the path to renuclearisation, because if Iran becomes a nuclear power its neighbours are likely to want to become nuclear powers,” he said, warning:
“This is already the most unstable region in the world and it would be a massive step in the wrong direction.”
His comments came just hours after Iran’s hardline judiciary announced that it had sentenced an Iranian woman to ten years in prison on charges of spying for Britain. It claimed that the woman, who it said worked for the British Council, had been recruited while studying in the UK.
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