UAE accuses 'state actor' for tanker attacks, but stops just short of Iran
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The United Arab Emirates stopped just short of blatantly blaming Iran for “sabotage attacks” on four tankers off its coast on May 12, but told the UN Security Council in a closed meeting this week that a “state actor” was almost the orchestrator.
Preliminary findings from the UAE-led investigation, which occurred in their territory east of the Fujairah emirate close to the pivotal Strait of Hormuz, are reported to have embodied a “high degree of sophistication.”
“The attacks required the expert navigation of fast boats which were able to intrude into UAE territorial waters,” the preliminary report stated, as per the BBC.
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The presentation denoted that divers were deployed to barrage the ships using limpet mines to cause impairment, without a mass explosion. No casualties resulted, but vessels from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Norway also incurred damages.
This undated photograph from the United Arab Emirates' Mission to the United Nations released Thursday, June 6, 2019, shows the damage done to the Emirati-owned oil tanker A. Michel off the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. (United Arab Emirates' Mission to the United Nations via AP)
Despite not explicit naming Iran, the Saudi Ambassador to the UN, Abdallah Y. al-Mouallimi took a more brazen approach and claiming that they had “no hesitation” in declaring that “the responsibility for this action lies on the shoulders of Iran,” Reuters reported. The Kingdom maintains that the attacks impact the safety of international navigation and global oil supplies, which mandates security council action.
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This undated photograph from the United Arab Emirates' Mission to the United Nations released Thursday, June 6, 2019, shows a diver investigating the damage done to the Saudi-owned oil tanker Al Marzoqah off the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. (United Arab Emirates' Mission to the United Nations via AP)
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton publicly stated last month that “naval mines almost certainly from Iran” were the instigators.
Nonetheless, Iran has staunchly denied any involvement and final findings are yet to be submitted.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The incident has exacerbated already flaring tensions between the U.S. and its Gulf allies, all taking a hardline stance against the Tehran leadership.