Saudi Arabia says 2 oil tankers damaged by sabotage attacks, US issues new warning to ships

The UAE foreign ministry earlier announced that four of its commercial ships were "subjected to sabotage operations" near the UAE territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of emirate Fujairah

By : ABP News Bureau | Updated at : 13 May 2019 11:01 AM (IST)

Saudi Arabia says 2 oil tankers damaged by sabotage attacks, US issues new warning to ships Saudi Arabia says 2 oil tankers damaged by sabotage attacks, US issues new warning to ships

FILE - In this Sept. 21, 2016 file photo, an oil tanker approaches to the new Jetty during the launch of the new $650 million oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates said Sunday, May 12, 2019 that four commercial ships near Fujairah "were subjected to sabotage operations" after false reports circulated in Lebanese and Iranian media outlets saying there had been explosions at the Fujairah port. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Saudi Arabia said on Monday that in the sabotage operations near the UAE territorial waters, two of its oil tankers were significantly damaged

The UAE foreign ministry earlier announced that four of its commercial ships were "subjected to sabotage operations" near the UAE territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of emirate Fujairah.

The announcement came just hours after some Iranian and Lebanese media outlets aired “false reports” of explosions at the city's port

New Delhi: Saudi Arabia said on Monday that in the sabotage operations near the UAE territorial waters, two of its oil tankers were significantly damaged. One of the ships was on route to pick up Saudi oil to take to the United States. The announcement comes as the US issued a new warning earlier in the day to sailors over alleged "acts of sabotage" the targeting ships amid heightened regional tensions between America and Iran. The UAE foreign ministry earlier announced that four of its commercial ships were "subjected to sabotage operations" near the UAE territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of emirate Fujairah. The announcement came just hours after some Iranian and Lebanese media outlets aired “false reports” of explosions at the city's port, the Associated Press said. It said that Emirati officials have declined to elaborate on the nature of the sabotage or say who might have been responsible. However, the reports come as the US has warned ships that "Iran or its proxies" could be targeting maritime traffic in the region, and as America is deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf to counter alleged threats from Tehran. Ever since US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, tensions have risen in the region. Last week, Iran had warned it would begin enriching uranium at higher levels in 60 days if world powers failed to negotiate new terms for the deal. On Sunday, several reports claimed that powerful explosions hit the port of Fujairah following a huge fire that engulfed many of its oil tankers. However, as per AP’s findings, the reports were unsubstantiated. Within hours of the reported port blasts, the UAE emirate of Fujairah denied the media reports, news agency Reuters said quoting Fujairah government media office. (with inputs from agencies)

Published at : 13 May 2019 11:01 AM (IST)

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