Insecurity on international waterways would harm Saudis, allies: Expert
Increasing insecurity in international waterways in the Persian Gulf and in the Red Sea would harm Saudi Arabia and its regional and Western allies more than anyone else, analysts say.
An expert told the Press TV on Saturday that attacks on an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea on Friday would finally leave the oil-rich kingdom and its allies in the region worst off as they use the waterway and other routes in the region more frequently than Iran.
“This attack would be to the detriment of Saudi Arabia and allies more than it could harm Iran,” said the expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding, “They transfer tens of millions of barrels of oil each day through these waterways but Iran’s export of oil, as they claim, has almost been reduced to zero.”
On Friday, the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) reported that the Sabiti tanker had been hit by two separate explosions near the Saudi port city of Jeddah. The blasts caused an oil spill that was stopped shortly after.
Iran said afterwards that it would not let the attack go unanswered, insisting that a reaction would come after a thorough investigation of the facts in Tehran.
The expert said Saudi Arabia is a main culprit for the Friday attacks, adding that the kingdom has faced similar accusations over involvement in incidents in the region over the past months.
He said that through sabotage, Saudi Arabia is desperately seeking to repair its image which has been tarnished as result of defeats in the war on Yemen.
Yemeni ruling fighters staged a series of drone attacks on oil facilities located east of Saudi Arabia last month, cutting the kingdom’s oil production in half and sending shockwaves across the global energy markets.
In another successful operation in September, Houthi Ansarullah fighters detained hundreds of Saudi forces and mercenaries during a blitz on Saudi military positions south of the kingdom.
The expert said the United States, Israel and other Western governments supporting Saudi Arabia should also be blamed for the recent surge of insecurity in the international waterways in the region.
He said Washington has repeatedly threatened to choke off Iran’s oil flow while it set a precedent in July by instructing Britain to seize a ship carrying Iranian oil off the coast of Gibraltar.
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