{"id":644169,"date":"2019-05-29T11:06:43","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T11:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"
\"White<\/p>\n
\n
\"White<\/div>\n

US National Security Advisor John Bolton accused Iran Wednesday of \u201calmost certainly\u201d being behind sabotage attacks on oil tankers off the UAE coast this month, as he visited Abu Dhabi amid soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran.<\/p>\n

The accusation, which follows a US military buildup in the Gulf, came on the eve of emergency Arab and Gulf summits called by Iran\u2019s regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia to discuss the standoff.<\/p>\n

Bolton said that additional US forces in the region were sent as a \u201cdeterrent\u201d and that Washington\u2019s response will be prudent.<\/p>\n

The four ships, including two Saudi tankers, were attacked by \u201cnaval mines almost certainly from Iran\u201d, Bolton told a press conference in the UAE capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt in anybody\u2019s mind in Washington who\u2019s responsible for this,\u201d Bolton said in a clear reference to Iran.<\/p>\n

US experts are part of a five-nation team that is investigating the May 12 attacks that damaged the four vessels in the Sea of Oman off the UAE emirate of Fujairah.<\/p>\n

Two days later Yemen\u2019s Huthi rebels \u2014 accused by Abu Dhabi and Riyadh of being proxies of Tehran \u2014 hit a strategic diversionary pipeline in Saudi Arabia with two drones.<\/p>\n

The east-west pipeline, which has the capacity to carry some five million barrels per day from the oilfields of the kingdom\u2019s Gulf coast to the Red Sea, was shut for two days as a result of the attack.<\/p>\n

Bolton said that there has also been \u201can unsuccessful attack on the Saudi port of Yanbu a couple of days before the attack on tankers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yanbu is Saudi Arabia\u2019s largest oil terminal on the Red Sea and is home to oil refineries and export facilities.<\/p>\n

\u2018Trying to be prudent\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Bolton said he would meet Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan as well as his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, to discuss relations and regional tensions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are responding and consulting more closely with our allies in the region to discuss what to do next.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are trying to be prudent and responsible. We gathered evidence about the nature of attacks on the tankers and the East-West pipeline, and sent additional forces to act as a deterrent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Washington has reimposed tough sanctions against Tehran and ordered the deployment of 1,500 more troops to the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Tehran called the attacks on the ships \u201calarming and regrettable\u201d, and warned of \u201cadventurism\u201d by foreign players to disrupt maritime security.<\/p>\n

Fujairah, where the attacks took place, is a key oil export terminal on the Sea of Oman that spares tankers the need to enter the Gulf through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has repeatedly threatened to close.<\/p>\n

Almost a third of the world\u2019s oil supplies pass through the narrow strait between Iran and Oman which is the sole shipping lane into and out of the Gulf.<\/p>\n

Regional tensions have spiked since US President Donald Trump\u2019s administration reimposed sanctions against Iran after unilaterally pulling out of a multilateral 2015 nuclear accord signed with the Islamic republic.<\/p>\n

Regional summits are planned on Thursday and Friday in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, as Riyadh seeks to further isolate Tehran.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has ordered non-essential diplomatic staff out of Iraq, citing threats from Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups, and sent an aircraft carrier and heavy B-52 bombers to the region.<\/p>\n

\n
Get more stories like this on Twitter<\/a><\/i><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n