Tehran and Houthis behind the attack rocked Singapore-flagged tanker off Saudi port
A former US official said that Tehran and Houthis behind the attack rocked Singapore-flagged tanker off Saudi port city of Jeddah Monday.
Bruce Riedel, a former US official and a senior fellow and director of the Brookings Intelligence Project, told Khabar Agency, "Probably Tehran behind the attack.. And perhaps with Houthi help. Tehran and Houthis have attacked Saudi targets frequently and are the most likely suspects in the Jiddah attack".
An explosion rocked a Singapore-flagged oil tanker off the Saudi port city of Jeddah Monday, the vessel's owner said, in the latest apparent strike on energy sector targets in the kingdom.
Riedel said that the US believes Iran involves in the attack.
All 22 sailors aboard the tanker BW Rhine escaped unhurt after the blast struck just after midnight, Singapore-based shipping company Hafnia said, but it did not exclude the possibility of an oil spill.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the alleged attack, but it comes as Iran-backed Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen step up cross-border strikes against Saudi targets in retaliation for a five-year military campaign led by Riyadh. AFP said.