Saudi Crown Prince Accuses Tehran Of Attacking Tankers In Gulf Of Oman

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th June, 2019) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman put the blame on Sunday for recent attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Tehran.

"The Iranian regime did not respect the [Japanese] prime minister [Shinzo Abe] as a guest [in Iran] during his visit and in effect responded to his efforts by attacking the two oil tankers in the Gulf [of Oman], one of which was apparently Japanese," he told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper in an interview.

On Thursday, two oil tankers, Kokuka Courageous and Front Altair, suffered explosions and fires in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz. While the causes of the incident remain unknown, the United States claimed that Iran had attacked the vessels.

However, Washington had not provided any evidence to support its claims. The US military subsequently released a video showing alleged Iranian forces removing an unexploded mine from one of the tankers. The footage, however, did not show any boat Names or flags that could help substantiate the claims.

On Friday, the UK Foreign Office accused the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of attacking the tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

Iran has denied all the allegations of having a role in the incident.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned against attempts to lay the blame on Iran before any thorough investigation into the incident.