Tanker war .. Iranians warn of "hidden hands" tampering with the security of the region

Jazeera Net-Tehran

Iran has warned that "hidden hands" are working to thwart any attempt to reduce tension in the Gulf region, while others accused Israel of being behind the incident targeting the Iranian tanker "Sabity".

On the eve of a visit by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to Tehran to ease tensions with Riyadh, the Iranian oil tanker was attacked by a double attack on its structure and some of its warehouses 60 miles from the Saudi port of Jeddah, which Tehran called "dangerous work."

While the Iranian news channel "Khubar" announced that Imran Khan will visit Iran on Saturday to follow up the mediation between Tehran and Riyadh, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rubaie said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has officially asked Imran Khan to mediate talks with the Iranian side.

The former head of Iran's parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Heshmatullah Falah Bisha, said the attack on the Iranian tanker was "very suspicious," noting that the incident came on the eve of Pakistani mediation after constructive positions expressed by the Iranian and Saudi sides to reduce tensions.

Several parties
Falah Bisha explained that there are many parties that could be behind the incident, such as the Zionist entity, or advocates of war in America, where they sometimes disagree with their politicians, or the extremist trend in Saudi Arabia.

While stressing the need for his government to pursue the attack on the tanker "Sabity" legally to reveal who was behind it, he stressed that the incident should not be an obstacle to reduce tension between Riyadh and Tehran, but should be a motive in this direction.

The prominent parliamentarian pointed out that Iran voluntarily guarantees the security of two-thirds of the Gulf waters and the Sea of ​​Oman, pointing out that his country is ready to contribute to the security of all countries in the region.

A spectrum of observers in Iran is pointing fingers at Israel as Tehran's "arch enemy". "The sources confirm that the attack on the Iranian tanker was carried out by an Israeli gunboat that left the Israeli naval base in Dhalk, Eritrea at 11 pm, and was seen 34 kilometers southeast of Port Sudan," a political analyst close to the Revolutionary Guards tweeted. ".

Abbas Aslani, a researcher at the Middle East Center for Strategic Studies, noted that whenever there is an opportunity to reduce tension in the Gulf, hidden hands trigger incidents to disrupt any chance of understanding with Iran and reduce tension in the region.

In addition to today's attack ahead of the mediation of Imran Khan between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the UAE's contact with Iran in May was accompanied by the sabotage of four civilian commercial cargo ships of various nationalities near the UAE's territorial waters.

Four months ago, international agencies announced the targeting of two commercial carriers in the Gulf of Oman coinciding with the reception of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who came with a message from US President Donald Trump.

Similar incidents
Aslani said it was not possible to say for the time being that the incident was carried out by missiles, but it was certain that the tanker was attacked rather than an accident on board, adding that three Iranian tankers (Hapins 1, and so on, and Sabeti) had suffered similar incidents in the Red Sea during the past six months.

He pointed out that the targeting of an Iranian oil tanker off the shores of Saudi Arabia on the eve of Imran Khan's visit to Iran, would affect the Pakistani mediation, adding, "There may be those who see their interest in keeping relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran tense."

Referring to the arrest of Iran, the British oil tanker "Stena Impero" after the detention of the British government of Gibraltar, the ship "Grace 1", the Middle East researcher explained that if any party is involved in the targeting of the Iranian tanker, it will have serious consequences for the executor .

Aslani said the targeting of Iranian oil tankers is in line with US sanctions aimed at zeroing Iranian exports of crude, warning that blocking Iranian crude exports would limit Tehran's ability, not to forget how many of the past events have strengthened Iran's standing in the region.