The Arab countries of the Persian Gulf expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), supporting all measures that their two allies take to protect their security and interests in the wake of what they called "terrorist attacks carried out by the Houthi terrorist militias" on oil interests in the region.
Two pumping stations along Aramco's East-West oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia were attacked by explosive-laden drones earlier this month, a day after the UAE said that a total four vessels were attacked off its coast at the port of Fujairah, the world's second-largest bunkering port.
The GCC Supreme Council condemned both attacks, saying that these terrorist acts are a threat to regional security and the global economy.
The attack on four commercial vessels off the UAE coast is a "dangerous escalation that threatens the security and safety of maritime navigation in this vital region of the world and negatively affects regional and international peace and security as well as stability of oil markets," the Gulf Arab states said at the end of an extraordinary summit on Friday in a joint statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
The Gulf Arab states directly pointed the finger at Iran, and said that "Iran must stop supporting, financing and arming terrorist militias and organizations as well as feeding sectarian conflicts."
"The Council denounces the Iranian threats to the freedom of maritime navigation and oil supplies, calling upon on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in securing the freedom of maritime navigation, in light of these threats and attacks against the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the statement reads.
The attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf earlier this month were caused by "naval mines almost certainly from Iran," U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said on Wednesday from the UAE as the tension between the U.S. and Iran continued to escalate.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on Thursday that he had seen the evidence about the tanker attacks that Bolton would present to the United Nations next week.
"These were - these were efforts by the Iranians to raise the price of crude oil throughout the world," Secretary Pompeo said.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More