Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accused Iran of attacks
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday accused Iran of attacks on the two tankers in the Sea of Oman on Thursday.
"The Iranian regime did not respect the Japanese Prime Minister's presence in Tehran and responded to his efforts in diplomacy by attacking two oil companies, one of which was Japanese," the prince said in an interview with the daily Asharq al -Awsat.
The attacks occurred near the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-third of the oil shipped by sea passes through the world.
They targeted Thursday a Japanese ship carrying methanol and a Cypriot tanker carrying naphtha, at the time when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was visiting Tehran in hopes of easing tensions between Iran and the United States.
"We do not want a war in the region, but we will not hesitate to react to any threat against our people, our sovereignty, our territorial integrity and our vital interests," warned Saudi Crown Prince.
Iran, bordering the Strait of Hormuz, has repeatedly threatened to block it in case of attack from the United States.
Earlier Saturday, Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al-Falih had called for "a prompt and decisive response to threats to energy supplies" stemming from "recent terrorist acts".
Comments
Post a Comment