Saudi Arabia said on Monday that two of its oil tankers had been sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, in attacks it described as posing a threat to the security of global oil supplies.
Tensions have risen in the oil-rich region in recent weeks amid the deployment of a growing number of United States military assets to the Middle East due to deteriorating relations with Iran.
On Thursday, 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.
One of the two Saudi vessels was on its way to be loaded with Saudi crude oil from the port of Ras Tanura, to be delivered to customers in the US, Saudi Arabia’s state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Monday.
While the agency didn’t mention casualties or oil spills, it did say there had been “significant damage to the structures of the two vessels.”
On Sunday, the UAE said that four commercial cargo ships were targeted by “sabotage operations” off its eastern coast. The apparent sabotage took place near to UAE territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of the emirate of Fujairah, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said Sunday.
It is unclear if the ships mentioned by Saudi Arabia and the UAE are part of the same incident.
The UAE ministry did not elaborate on the nature of the alleged sabotage, or offer any indication as to who might be responsible, including whether it was carried out by individuals or a larger group or country.
The UAE ministry said authorities were working with local and international bodies to investigate the incident, which it described as a “dangerous development.” It said there were no injuries or deaths.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said on Monday that the incidents were “alarming and regrettable,” and requested further information on the alleged sabotage.
The Iran spokesman warned against “plots by ill-wishers to disrupt regional security” and called for “vigilance of regional states in the face of any adventurism by foreign elements.”
Iran borders the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz.
In additional comments Monday, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the “acts of sabotage” and expressed solidarity with the UAE, the Saudi Press Agency reported, citing an official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The comments follow an earlier statement from Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih in which he described the attack as an attempt to “undermine the freedom of maritime navigation, and the security of oil supplies to consumers all over the world.”
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
Hi, Adam
I’m not very impressed by the extent and type of sabotage. All four tankers were struck near the water line, which indicates that surface boats were used rather than (more sophisticated, which Iran has) submarines. The charges were small and damage light, and Iran has gone out of its way (after much bravado the past week) to DISCLAIM any responsibility.
From what little we know at this point, I suspect some amateurish jihadi wannabes, more than Iran. On the other hand, Iran doesn’t have a unified government. If the theocrats did pull this thing off, they failed miserably.
<a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/as-trump-escalates-pressure-experts-fear-iran-will-strike-back-133314753.html"" "As Trump escalates pressure, experts fear Iran will strike back."This is a very important article that describes the risks to the United States as it takes on Iran's decision to wage a "proxy war" against the United States, using the non-Iranian militias Iran has recruited, and controls, in Yemen and all across the Middle East.
A very ominous development. U.S. Navy may be forced to take some action against Iran and/or its “proxies,” although Trump wants to avoid a military confrontation with Iran if possible. Perhaps it was some intelligence about this plot that led Trump to send naval task forces to the eastern Mediterranian and the Persian Gulf.
Maybe the U.S. can ‘hand off ” the job of locating and neutralizing the sabateurs to tthe Israeli Navy.