DUBAI: An Iranian government spokesman on Saturday described as a “cowardly attack” an incident that Iranian media have called the apparent targeting by missiles of an Iranian-owned oil tanker, and said
Iran would respond after the facts had been studied.The tanker Sabiti was hit in Red Sea waters off Saudi Arabia on Friday, Iranian media have reported, an incident that could stoke friction in a region rattled by attacks on tankers and oil installations since May. “Iran is avoiding haste, carefully examining what has happened and probing facts,” government spokesman Ali Rabei was quoted as saying by the official news agency IRNA.Separately, a senior security official said video evidence had provided leads about the incident, adding that the Sabiti was hit by two missiles, the semi-official news agency Fars reported. “A special committee has been set up to investigate the attack on Sabiti
with two missiles and its report will soon be submitted to the authorities for decision,” said Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s top security body, according to Fars. “Piracy and mischief on international waterways aimed at making commercial shipping insecure will not go unanswered,” he said.Rabei was quoted by IRNA as saying “an appropriate response will be given to the designers of this cowardly attack, but we will wait until all aspects of the plot are clarified”.Saudi Arabia said it received a distress message from the damaged tanker but the vessel kept moving and switched off its transponder before it could provide assistance, the state news agency SPA reported on Saturday.Leakage of cargo from the tanker has been stopped as it heads for the Gulf, the semi-official news agency Mehr reported. “The tanker is heading for Persian Gulf waters and we hope it will enter Iranian waters safely,” it quoted an unnamed official as saying.Nasrollah Sardashti, head of National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) that owns the damaged tanker, said the crew were safe and the vessel would reach Iranian waters within 10 days, the Oil Ministry’s news agency SHANA reported. There was no claim of responsibility for the reported incident and it has yet to be independently confirmed.It was the latest involving oil tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf region, and may ratchet up tensions between
Iran and Saudi
Arabia, long-time regional adversaries fighting a proxy war in Yemen, which lies at the southern end of the Red Sea.Meanwhile,
Iran is prepared to hold
talks with regional rival Saudi
Arabia, with or
without the help of a mediator, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, ahead of a visit by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.Asked about reports that Khan, due to arrive in
Iran at the weekend, may try to mediate between Tehran and Riyadh, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said: “I am not aware of any mediation,” according to state broadcaster IRIB.“Iran has announced that,
with or
without a mediator, it is always
Ready to hold talk
with its neighbors, including Saudi
Arabia, to get rid of any misunderstandings,” Mousavi added.Iran’s foreign minister signaled this week that his country would be willing to discuss regional issues
with Saudi
Arabia, but that Riyadh had to stop “killing people”.
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