Iranian state media reported that an explosion on board an oil tanker owned by the country off the coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday morning was caused after it was struck by missiles.
State broadcaster Press TV tweeted “Iranian tanker set ablaze near Saudi #Jeddah possibly after being hit by two missiles”.
Earlier, Iranian media reported that the blast on the oil tanker, named Sinopa, was suspected to be a “terrorist attack”. The tanker, owned by the National Iranian Oil Company, was leaking oil into the Red Sea, another Iranian state-run news agency claimed. The Nour news agency, believed to be close to the Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the crew of the oil tanker was safe.
Details of the Sinopa on the internet list the tanker as having a gross tonnage of over 81,000 tonnes.
Tension between Iran and Gulf states allied with the US has been high for several months after the Donald Trump administration announced re-imposition of tough sanctions on Tehran.
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At least six oil tankers, three of them belonging to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, were attacked with explosives near the Straits of Hormuz in May-June. The US and Saudi Arabia have pointed fingers of suspicion at Iran and Yemeni rebels linked to the Shia regime, though Tehran has continued to deny involvement.
On September 14, a combined cruise missile and drone attack targeted two facilities of Aramco, the Saudi oil giant, crippling it's oil production by over 5 million barrels a day briefly. The US, Saudi Arabia and other nations have blamed Iran for orchestrating the attack.
