Iranian tanker incident .. The first comment from Saudi Arabia and Tehran vows to respond

Saudi Arabia has said it was ready to help an Iranian oil tanker attacked by two missiles in the Red Sea, while Iran's National Security Council Secretary-General Ali Shamkhani vowed to respond to the attack, which he said was destabilizing maritime security.

Saudi Arabia received an e-mail from an Iranian tanker saying its front had been broken, resulting in an oil spill, but the ship continued and closed its automatic tracking system before it could be assisted, the official SPA news agency reported.

The agency quoted Saudi border guards that the Iranian tanker "Sabity" did not respond to many contacts from the Saudi authorities, and that the Kingdom affirms "its commitment and its concern for the security and safety of maritime navigation and its commitment to international agreements and norms governing this."

Two separate explosions
The National Iranian Oil Tankers Company said that the structure of the tanker "Sabiti" was hit by two separate explosions on Friday, 100 km off the port of Jeddah in the east of the Kingdom.

Another Iranian ship broke down in early May off the coast of Jeddah and stayed in the kingdom for days to repair it.

Iran has vowed that the attack on its tanker will not remain unanswered. The secretary-general of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said evidence had emerged about who was behind the "missile attack" on the tanker, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

Investigation Committee
Shamkhani said in statements that a special investigation committee has been formed in the National Security Council to follow up the case, and it is not the first time to target Iranian tankers in the Red Sea.

The attack on the Iranian tanker followed a series of attacks - the reasons are still vague - targeted shipping traffic in the Gulf region in the past few months.

In the same context, the Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei described the attack on the tanker "Sabity" cowardly action, and vowed to respond after the fact-finding, said that his country is studying the subject carefully to reveal the circumstances of the attack, and it will respond appropriately without hesitation.

The Iranian official said that there are those who benefit from wars and seek to destabilize security in the region, and hinder any efforts for peace and dialogue.

In a statement reported by the semi-official Mehr news agency today, an Iranian official said that the tanker is heading towards the Gulf waters, expressing his hope that the Iranian waters will enter safely, pointing out that the fuel leakage has stopped.

Fifth Fleet
The US Navy's Fifth Fleet, operating in the region, said it had heard about the alleged attack on the Iranian tanker, adding that he had no further information.

Eurasia, a political risk consultancy, said in a statement that the tanker's proximity to the Saudi port of Jeddah may suggest the missiles might have been launched from the kingdom, but the advisory group did not rule out what happened as a result of Israeli sabotage.