The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has as per the preliminary investigations, the recent attacks on 4 tankers off its coast have been carried out by a ‘State Actor’. A State Actor refers to a person who acts on behalf of a Government body.
The findings were presented by UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Norway. The findings revealed that the attacks were a part of sophisticated and coordinated operation which can only be carried out by a ‘State Actor’. However, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway didn’t name any country in their findings.
Contrary to this, the United States (U.S.) has blamed Iran for carrying out the May 12, 2019 attacks as that was the time when tensions were rising between Iran and U.S. Reacting to U.S.’s accusations, Iran has outrightly denied the charges and has termed them as false.
The attack took place off the UAE Emirate of Fujairah, which lies outside the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil and gas shipping route, separating the Gulf Arab States and Iran. As per the findings, the attacks required professional navigation of fast boats and trained divers who can place limpet mines with extreme precision on the vessels. Out of these 4 vessels, 2 were of Saudi Arabi and one each belonged to UAE and Norway. Though there were no casualties, Saudi Arabian ships suffered significant damage.
Speaking on the occasion, the Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the U.N. – Abdallah Y Al-Mouallimi said, “We believe that the responsibility for this action lies on the shoulders of Iran. We have no hesitation in making this statement.”
A week before the attack, the tensions between U.S. and Iran hit a new high when U.S. withdrew the exemptions from sanctions for countries who were buying oil from Iran. For the records, India and China were the biggest importer of Iran oil. The move by U.S. was aimed at impacting the economy of Iran as oil is its main source of revenue. The U.S. had also designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organisation. IRGC is a branch of Iran’s armed forces.
The U.S. had also sent nuclear-powered bombers and an aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf. The move was termed as ‘psychological warfare’ by Iran.
AT UNSC, Saudi Arabia maintained that the attacks pose a threat to the safety of international commercial vessels and global oil supplies. However, after the meeting, the Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the U.N. – Vladimir Safronkov informed media that no proof has been presented by UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway which can establish the fact that Iran was behind the attacks.
The UN Diplomats believe that any attempt by the UNSC to punish Iran for the attacks will face severe opposition from Russia.
