ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has threatened to pursue those responsible for a Friday attack on an Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea, based on “intelligence” gathered on the incident.
On Friday morning an explosion was reported on Iranian oil tanker Sabiti, 60 miles off the coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abbas Mousavi later said the tanker was hit twice in the space of half an hour by short-range attacks.
“In the last few months, a series of sabotage actions have been taken against Iranian oil tankers in the Red Sea and the investigation into causes are underway,” Mousavi said.
Ali Shamkhani, secretary general of the SNSC and senior military advisor to Supreme Leader Ali, reiterated the claim the tanker was targeted twice. He said those behind the attack would be held accountable based on accrued evidence.
“Based on the video footage available and the intelligence gathered, the main clues about this dangerous adventure have been obtained,” Shamakhani said. “Maritime banditry and mischief in the international waterways with the aim of making the travel of commercial shipping insecure won’t go unanswered.”
With the rise of tension between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) activities across the Middle East, a series of attacks on vessels in the Persian Gulf have brought the region to the verge of war.
Attacks on several tankers in the Gulf of Oman in June and a daring raid on Aramco oil facilities in September were blamed on Iran, which denied any involvement.
The attack on Sabiti caused global oil prices to rise by 2 percent.
Iran officially has not accused Saudi Arabia of involvement but the spokesperson for the Saudi Border Guard said today the tanker’s captain had called for Saudi assistance due to vessel damage before sailing beyond Jeddah radar surveillance.
“The captain of Sabiti the Iranian oil tanker sent an email to Jeddah radio (Jeddah Coast Station) at 11:47 am claiming the front side of the oil tanker was broken and oil was leaking from the ship into the sea,” the Border Guard spokesperson said.
“After a while, Saudi Arabia asked if they can offer any help to the oil tanker, but the ship continued to seal until it was was 67 miles away from Jeddah coast and suddenly they turned off their radar. At 15:50 the ship was 79 miles away from the Jeddah coast, and that was the last point the oil tanker was visible on Jeddah coast station radars.”
Additional reporting by Lawk Ghafuri
