The United Arab Emirates has blamed Iran for firing drones at two tankers operated by a state-owned oil company as they sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, saying Friday, August 14, that the attacks were acts of piracy.
The attacks caused no casualties but underlined the dangers faced by vessels seeking to move cargo through the critical waterway that leads from the Persian Gulf to the open oceans as Iran keeps a firm grip on the passage.
The tankers, owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) were attacked Thursday, August 13, evening while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the company said. It added that the attack caused no injuries and that “the situation has been brought under control.”
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTOC) said two vessels were reported to have suffered minor damage when attacked by drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. It did not identify them as the ADNOC ships, but it appeared to be the same incident.
The UAE’s Foreign Ministry blamed the attacks on Iran and said they were a “flagrant violation” of the United Nations’ principles of freedom of navigation.
“Targeting commercial shipping and using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of economic coercion or blackmail represents acts of piracy by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, and constitutes a direct threat to the stability of the region, its peoples, and global energy security,” the Foreign Ministry said.
There was no immediate response from Iran.
Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, also condemned the attack on two UAE tankers.
In a statement, Albudaiwi said that the GCC “strongly condemns the brutal Iranian attack” and stressed that “repeated targeting of navigation, facilities, and properties constitutes an unacceptable escalation and a grave violation of international law.”
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