The UAE foreign ministry said on Sunday that four commercial vessels had been sabotaged near Fujairah emirate, one of the world’s biggest bunkering hubs lying just outside the Strait of Hormuz. US intelligence sources have alleged Iran is behind the unexplained attacks, but added Washington does not have enough proof to back that claim. Responding to the event, Mr Philippe told a French parliamentary session on Tuesday: “These acts of sabotage … against four ships in the Arabian sea and near the UAE’s territorial waters are obviously preoccupying."
One of the vessels was a UAE-flagged fuel bunker barge and another a Norwegian-registered oil products tanker. The other two were crude oil tankers owned by the Saudi shipping firm Bahri.
Saudi Arabia has since described the incident as a threat to the security of global oil supplies.
The owner of the Norwegian vessel, Thome Ship Management, said the vessel had been “struck by an unknown object”.
Gulf officials, for their part, have refused to describe the nature of the attack or say who was behind it, but the incident took place after a pro-Iran satellite channel in Lebanon and Iranian media wrongly claimed that the port of Fujairah had been hit by mysterious explosions.
Iran, which is ensnared in an escalating war of words with the United States over sanctions and the US military presence in the region, moved to
