SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A handout picture released by Iranian state television network IRIB on October 10, 2019 shows the Iranian crude oil tanker Sabiti sailing in the Red Sea. (Handout/Irib Tv/Afp Via Getty Images)
'Dangerous Act': Iranian Oil Tanker Reportedly Struck by Two Missiles Off Saudi Coast
"All the responsibility for the act, including the extensive environmental pollution in the region, fall on those behind the dangerous adventure," said a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry.
Oct 11, 2019
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
An Iranian oil tanker was reportedly struck by two missiles off the coast of Saudi Arabia early Friday morning in what Iran's state media said may have been a "terrorist attack."
Iran has not officially assigned blame for the incident, which sparked explosions and an oil spill that is now reportedly under control.
"The National Iranian Tanker Co., which owns the oil tanker Sabiti, said the vessel was in the Red Sea, about 60 miles off the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah, when it was likely hit by missiles that damaged its main tanks," the Wall Street Journal reported. "The ship's crew were unharmed, NITC said on its Telegram account."
NITC said it "looks like" the incident could have been caused by a missile attack but it is not yet sure.
Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, called the incident a "dangerous act" and said Iran is working to determine the culprit.
"The investigations conducted by the National Iranian Tanker Company indicate the Iranian tanker has sustained damages after being targeted twice, at half-hourly intervals, from a place near its shipping route in the east of the Red Sea," Mousavi said during a press conference. "All the responsibility for the act, including the extensive environmental pollution in the region, fall on those behind the dangerous adventure."
The incident comes just weeks after Saudi Arabia and the Trump administration, on the basis of flimsy evidence, blamed Iran for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities and threatened retaliation. Iran denied responsibility and cautioned against conflict based on "deception."
"We don't want war. We don't want to engage in a military confrontation," said Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif in an interview last month. "We believe that a military confrontation based on deception is awful, will have a lot of casualties."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
An Iranian oil tanker was reportedly struck by two missiles off the coast of Saudi Arabia early Friday morning in what Iran's state media said may have been a "terrorist attack."
Iran has not officially assigned blame for the incident, which sparked explosions and an oil spill that is now reportedly under control.
"The National Iranian Tanker Co., which owns the oil tanker Sabiti, said the vessel was in the Red Sea, about 60 miles off the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah, when it was likely hit by missiles that damaged its main tanks," the Wall Street Journal reported. "The ship's crew were unharmed, NITC said on its Telegram account."
NITC said it "looks like" the incident could have been caused by a missile attack but it is not yet sure.
Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, called the incident a "dangerous act" and said Iran is working to determine the culprit.
"The investigations conducted by the National Iranian Tanker Company indicate the Iranian tanker has sustained damages after being targeted twice, at half-hourly intervals, from a place near its shipping route in the east of the Red Sea," Mousavi said during a press conference. "All the responsibility for the act, including the extensive environmental pollution in the region, fall on those behind the dangerous adventure."
The incident comes just weeks after Saudi Arabia and the Trump administration, on the basis of flimsy evidence, blamed Iran for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities and threatened retaliation. Iran denied responsibility and cautioned against conflict based on "deception."
"We don't want war. We don't want to engage in a military confrontation," said Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif in an interview last month. "We believe that a military confrontation based on deception is awful, will have a lot of casualties."
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
An Iranian oil tanker was reportedly struck by two missiles off the coast of Saudi Arabia early Friday morning in what Iran's state media said may have been a "terrorist attack."
Iran has not officially assigned blame for the incident, which sparked explosions and an oil spill that is now reportedly under control.
"The National Iranian Tanker Co., which owns the oil tanker Sabiti, said the vessel was in the Red Sea, about 60 miles off the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah, when it was likely hit by missiles that damaged its main tanks," the Wall Street Journal reported. "The ship's crew were unharmed, NITC said on its Telegram account."
NITC said it "looks like" the incident could have been caused by a missile attack but it is not yet sure.
Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, called the incident a "dangerous act" and said Iran is working to determine the culprit.
"The investigations conducted by the National Iranian Tanker Company indicate the Iranian tanker has sustained damages after being targeted twice, at half-hourly intervals, from a place near its shipping route in the east of the Red Sea," Mousavi said during a press conference. "All the responsibility for the act, including the extensive environmental pollution in the region, fall on those behind the dangerous adventure."
The incident comes just weeks after Saudi Arabia and the Trump administration, on the basis of flimsy evidence, blamed Iran for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities and threatened retaliation. Iran denied responsibility and cautioned against conflict based on "deception."
"We don't want war. We don't want to engage in a military confrontation," said Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif in an interview last month. "We believe that a military confrontation based on deception is awful, will have a lot of casualties."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.