Iran oil tanker ‘hit by two MISSILES’ in ‘terror attack’ near Saudi Arabia port, reports claim
AN Iranian oil tanker was today hit by two rockets in a suspected terrorist act, according to reports.
The huge blast struck the vessel belonging to the National Iranian Oil Company 60 miles from the port city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
Unverified reports suggest "heavy damages" were caused to the ship and crude oil is currently spilling into the Red Sea.
According to Iranian media, unnamed experts believe it could be the result of a terrorist attack.
Iran has long been locked in various feuds including with the US, and its powerful neighbour, Saudi Arabia. Israel has long regarded Iran, and its proxies in the region, armed with missiles and drones, as a massive threat.
And Saudi Arabia has been embroiled in neighbouring Yemen's civil war since 2015, which has been seen as a proxy for the region's power struggle between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran.
Weeks ago, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarid warned of "all-out-war" if the US or Saudi Arabia conducted military air strikes against his country.
No one has claimed responsibility for today's alleged assault.
HIT BY 'TWO MISSILES'
Fars news agency said: "Technical experts believe the incident may be due to terrorist activity."
The state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said that the damaged ship was struck by two rockets in a “terrorist act” at about 5am local time.
Iranian state TV has also reported that "two missiles" hit the vessel and damaged two storerooms.
The explosion comes after the US alleged Iran attacked oil tankers last month near the Strait of Hormuz, something denied by Tehran.
All crew members have been reported as unharmed, Iran's Nour news agency said on Friday.
"None of the crew members were injured in the explosion... the situation is under control," the news agency, close to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, reported.
The stricken tanker is believed to be the Sabiti, according to a NIOC statement.
That vessel last turned on its tracking devices in August near the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
To avoid detection, Iranian tankers routinely turn off their trackers because US sanctions target the sale of Iran's crude oil.
Persian language news network Iran International tweeted that Iran's National Petroleum Company said that there were two explosions on an Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea, which was "probably blasted by rocket fire near the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah".
The US Navy's Fifth Fleet said it was aware of reports about the tanker blast but has no further information so far, a spokesman told Reuters.
Oil prices rose two per cent after the Iranian oil tanker explosion, on the back of supply concerns.
The alleged attack is the latest incident involving oil tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf region.
It comes after America claimed in September that Iran attacked oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz - which Tehran denies.
US President Donald Trump warned that America was "locked and loaded" shortly after that assault.
Relations in the region began to worsen significantly when Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six powers and reimposed reimposed harsh sanctions to stifle its economy.
TENSIONS STOKED
Friction is already high in the Red Sea shipping area, which links the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal.
Anger in the Persian Gulf between the United States and Iran has been threatening to reach boiling point.
And this has resulted in a massive American military build-up in response to what it says are Iranian threats.
In June, the US claimed Iran was behind the "torpedo attack" on an American-linked oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman.
Both the Front Altair and the Panama-flagged Kokuka Courageous - which was reportedly bombed - burst into flames and were forced to evacuate in the troubled region.
However, a senior Iranian official told the BBC: "Iran has no connection with the incident."
And the hardline Islamic nation also described claims it was to blame as "Iranophobic."
OTHER ATTACKS
There was also a missile attack on an airport in Saudi Arabia in June, which left dozens dead.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they carried out the aerial assault on Abha airport.
The Houthi said it was in response to Saudi's "continued aggression".
At that time, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed rebels promised to respond to what they said was a war crime carried out with "advanced weapons" supplied by Tehran.
Saudi Arabia has been embroiled in neighbouring Yemen's civil war since 2015.
The war has been seen as a proxy for the region power struggle between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran.
LEAKED US 'WAR PLAN'
In September, leaked documents revealed that Iran could be blitzed by the US in a colossal "shock and awe" attack.
Codenamed Theatre Iran Near Term (TIRANNT), the war plan is believed to be the blueprint for a strike that would pave the war for crushing the country's powerbase within 24 hours.
A war on Iran has been on the drawing board on the Pentagon for more than ten years.
But with rising fears of an imminent conflict after Terran’s missile and drone strike on Saudi oil plant, the leaked plans have re-emerged and are viewed by experts as showing how a US attack would unfold.
Almost certainly Iran’s nuclear plants and facilities would be destroyed first.
Under TIRANNT, cruise missiles would be unleashed from ships in the Gulf and bombs dropped from formations of B52 Stratofortress as well as B2 stealth warplanes
More than 10,000 targets would be pummelled.
Timeline of attacks heightening Gulf tensions since May 2019
Here's what's happened in the Gulf region since May:
May 12 - Four ships, including two Saudi oil tankers, are attacked in the Gulf just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route.
American officials pin the blame on Iran, a charge Tehran denies.
May 14 - Saudi Arabia said armed Houthi drones struck two oil pumping stations in the kingdom, causing a fire which was contained.
May 21 - A Houthi drone struck an arms depot in Saudi Arabia's Najran airport near the Yemeni border, causing a fire.
June 12 - Houthis drones struck Abha civilian airport in southern Saudi Arabia, wounding 26 people.
June 13 - Two tankers are attacked south of Hormuz. Washington again blames Iran and Tehran denies any role.
June 19 - The Houthis launched a projectile on June 19 targeting a power transformer station near a desalination plant in Shuqaiq in southern Saudi Arabia.
June 20 - Iran shot down an unmanned US surveillance drone.
June 23 - The Saudi-led military coalition said the Houthis launched an attack on Abha airport, killing one person and wounding 21 others.
July 4 - British Royal Marines seized Iranian supertanker Grace 1 near Gibraltar on July 4 on suspicion of violating EU sanctions on Syria.
July 10 - British warship HMS Montrose on July 10 issued verbal warnings and aimed guns at boats believed to belong to Iranian Revolutionary Guards which approached BP (BP.L) oil tanker British Heritage at the northern entrance of Hormuz.
July 18 - The US said USS Boxer destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after it threatened the US Navy ship.
July 19 - Iran seized British-operated oil tankers Stena Impero and Mesdar, the latter released after receiving a warning from Iranian authorities.
Aug. 15 - Gibraltar freed the Grace 1, renamed the Adrian Darya 1.
Sept. 14 - The Houthis claim responsibility for Sept 14 drone attacks on Saudi Aramco plants in Abqaiq and Khurais.
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