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Iran Tanker Explodes Off Saudi Coast Iran Tanker Explodes Off Saudi Coast
(32 minutes later)
Two explosions struck an Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea early Friday and caused an oil spill, in what the Iranian state news media reported was a possible terrorist attack. An Iranian oil tanker was on fire in the Red Sea early Friday, and state media reported that the vessel had been hit by two missiles that struck its two major tanks, causing oil to spill into the sea.
Press TV, a state media organization, reported that the crew was safe, but the tanker suffered damage and was leaking oil about 60 miles from Jidda, Saudi Arabia. The tanker, named Sinopa, is owned by the National Iranian Oil Company. The Iranian National Oil Company, which owns the tanker, said the tanker was struck by the missiles at 5 a.m. and again at 5:20 a.m., the state-run IRNA news agency reported, adding that it had suffered damage about 60 miles from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The oil company said in a statement that the explosions struck the tanker’s two main reservoirs at 5 a.m. and 5:20 a.m. local time, “most probably by missile attacks,” according to Press TV. The crew members were safe and the ship was in stable condition, Iran’s state-run news media reported, even though the hull was damaged and oil was leaking into the sea.
“Technical experts” were investigating the cause of the explosion, state media reported, adding that they believe the ship was targeted in a “terrorist attack.”
The reports of a missile attack will almost certainly ratchet up tensions in the region, where the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran has been playing out in various ways, including the seizure of a number of oil tankers.
Two major Saudi oil installations were attacked last month, and the effect was broadly felt across global oil markets. Saudi Arabia supplies about a tenth of the world’s oil, and the kingdom’s ability to produce it was temporarily slashed by more than 50 percent.
The Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are fighting the Saudi-backed government in the country’s civil war, claimed credit for that attack, but the United States said the Iran was responsible.
At the time, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Iran was behind what he called “an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” adding that there was “no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”