RIYADH, June 16 (NNN-BERNAMA-AGENCIES) — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accused arch-rival Iran of attacks on oil tankers in a vital Gulf shipping channel, adding he “won’t hesitate” to tackle any threats to the kingdom, according to an interview published on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two tankers were struck by explosions on Thursday in the Gulf of Oman, the second attack in a month in the strategic shipping lane amid a tense US-Iran standoff, sparking fears of a regional conflagration and sending oil prices soaring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We do not want a war in the region… But we won’t hesitate to deal with any threat to our people, our sovereignty, our territorial integrity and our vital interests,” Prince Mohammed told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, in his first public comments since the attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The Iranian regime did not respect the presence of the Japanese prime minister as a guest in Tehran and responded to his (diplomatic) efforts by attacking two tankers, one of which was Japanese.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prince also accused “Iran and its proxies” over May 12 attacks on four tankers anchored in the Gulf of Oman off the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thursday’s attack on two tankers — the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous that was carrying highly flammable methanol when it was rocked by explosions and the Norwegian-operated Front Altair — came around the time Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was meeting with Iranian leaders in Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US President Donald Trump has said the twin attacks had Iran “written all over it”, rejecting Tehran’s vehement denial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saudi Arabia, a close US ally, is a bitter regional rival of Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US military on Friday released grainy footage it said showed an Iranian patrol boat removing an “unexploded limpet mine” from one of the tankers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday called on world powers “to secure international navigation and access to energy”, a plea echoed by regional ally Saudi Arabia after the incident sent crude prices soaring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran has repeatedly warned in the past that it could block the strategic Hormuz Strait in a relatively low-tech, high-impact countermeasure to any attack by the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doing so would disrupt oil tankers travelling out of the Gulf region to the Indian Ocean and global export routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE’s Sheikh Abdullah, whose country is bitterly opposed to Iranian influence in the region, called for a deescalation of tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We remain hopeful in attaining a broader framework for cooperation with Iran,” he said at a summit in Bulgaria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih called for a “swift and decisive” response to threats against energy supplies after Thursday’s “terrorist acts”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Japanese tanker’s Tokyo-based operator Kokuka confirmed Saturday the stricken vessel was heading to port in the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We still don’t know if the tanker goes to Khor Fakkan or Fujairah as they are very close,” said a spokesman, referring to two Emirati ports on the Gulf of Oman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maritime experts would then seek to transfer the highly flammable cargo to shore, according to an unnamed official quoted by Japanese state media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“From a viewpoint of global energy security, it is necessary for the international community to jointly deal with the act,” said Japanese trade minister Hiroshige Seko at a G20 energy and environment meeting in Japan on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other ship, the Front Altair, has left Iran’s territorial waters, multiple sources said Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ship is “heading toward the Fujairah-Khor Fakkan area in the United Arab Emirates”, head of ports for Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan told the semi-official news agency ISNA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tanker “has left Iran’s territorial waters,” he said, adding that it was being towed and sprayed with water to cool the hull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokeswoman for Frontline Management, the Norwegian company which owns the ship, said “all 23 crew members of the tanker departed Iran” and flew to Dubai on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“All crew members are well and have been well looked after while in Iran,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that the US had “immediately jumped to make allegations against Iran without a shred of factual or circumstantial evidence.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States has also accused Iran over May 12 sabotage attacks on four tankers anchored in the Gulf of Oman off Fujairah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said London had concluded Iran was “almost certainly” responsible for Thursday’s tanker attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran’s foreign ministry responded on Saturday by summoning British Ambassador Rob Macaire over Hunt’s “false remarks”, the official IRNA news agency reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s very important to know the truth (and) that responsibilities are clarified,” he told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.
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