Page 54 - BNE_magazine_06_2019

54 I Eurasia bne June 2019
Fingers pointed at Iran in blame game over tanker “sabotage operations”
not want to move into a war situation with Tehran.
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Kha-
lid al-Falih confirmed on May 13 that two Saudi oil tankers were among the vessels targeted in “a sabotage attack”, threatening the security of global oil supplies. Fujairah, one of the world's busiest bunkering hubs for tankers, is located on the coast of the Gulf of Oman south of the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route and potential choke- point at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Iranian officials have warned they might close off the strait should the US attempt to physically interfere with Iran's oil exports passing along the waterway which opens out into the Indian Ocean.
In a press release, the Iranian Foreign Ministry called the situation with the attacks on the tankers “worrisome and dreadful” and asked for an investigation into what happened to the boats.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said "such incidents have a negative impact on maritime transportation security [in the Persian Gulf] and warned regional countries
to be vigilant against plots orchestrated by foreign agents".
Separately, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Brussels
bne IntelliNews
Who was behind the “sabotage operations” that the United Arab Emirates says damaged four oil tankers just outside the Strait of Hormuz on May 12 is not known but there have been some attempts to pin the blame on Iran.
World oil prices rose 3% by mid- afternoon GMT on May 13 after the attacks that damaged two Saudi vessels, a Norwegian vessel and another tanker, the origin of which has not been relayed by officials. One news report put out by RT included video footage which indicated the vessels had been struck by Scud missiles. Norwegian ship Andrea Victory appeared to have been hit to
the rear. It was still afloat, but was significantly damaged.
One attempt to blame Iran – involved in a growing sanctions showdown
with the US which is building up its military in the Gulf region – for what occurred came from a senior policy analyst aligned with Abu Dhabi. Ebtesam Al Ekitbi, a member of the board of directors of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, tweeted in Arabic: “The subversive work carried
She followed up with: “The cost of
a comprehensive confrontation with the United States will not be tolerated by the Iranian regime. Therefore, all kinds of indirect skirmishes will be resorted to by subversive acts and the movement of dormant cells against America and its allies.”
Her comments follow remarks from Iran’s Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh,
a lawmaker who heads the Iranian par- liament’s national security committee, who on May 12 said on Twitter: “The explosions of Fujairah showed that the security of south of the Persian Gulf is like glass.”
On May 13, Falahatpisheh made
more remarks, saying, according to
state news agency IRNA, that “ the explosions [near] Fujairah port could have been carried out by saboteurs
from a third country who seek instability in the region”.
Iranian officials often use "third country" as a euphemism for Israel.
The US is attempting to strangle Iran’s oil exports by threatening secondary
“The subversive work carried out by Iran near the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates confirms the terrorist nature of the Iranian regime”
out by Iran near the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates confirms the terrorist nature of the Iranian regime and the impossibility of its being subject to the rules of the international system and its laws.”
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sanctions against any willing buyers and there are worries that hawkish officials in Washington could exploit the growing tensions to goad Donald Trump into a military clash with the Iranians, although the White House insists it does