The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that Iran attacked a state-owned oil vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz for the third time this week.
Two ships owned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company were also struck by drones on Thursday, reflecting a late-week escalation in tensions over the international waterway. Iranian forces have intermittently fired drones and missiles at oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz over the last few months as negotiations between Iran and the United States to end their monthslong conflict stalled.
The UAE Foreign Ministry condemned the aggression and a diplomatic advisor to UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said the nation will safeguard its rights to freedom of navigation, according to The Hill.
“This attack constitutes a flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolution 2817,” the ministry said, “Which affirmed the importance of freedom of navigation, and rejected the targeting of commercial vessels or the obstruction of international maritime routes.”
Approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the conflict between Iran and the U.S. broke out on Feb. 28. The waterway has since been the focal point of failed negotiations between the two countries, as both nations have claimed control over the critical shipping route.
President Donald Trump said at an event on Friday he will declare the Strait of Hormuz “a territory of the United States” after the U.S. defeats Iran. Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs responded Saturday morning, saying the waterway “has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian.”
Trump also said on Friday the rise in gas prices resulting from the conflict is worth “the number one state sponsor of terror in the world” not having a nuclear weapon.
TWO UAE OIL TANKERS STRUCK BY IRANIAN DRONES IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
No casualties were reported in Thursday or Friday’s strikes.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center also said a bulk carrier was struck in the Strait of Hormuz by an “unknown projectile” on Friday, according to the Associated Press.