Saudi Arabia to convene Arab leaders in emergency summits

TEHRAN (defapress) – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has invited Persian Gulf and Arab leaders to convene emergency summits, according to the Kingdom’s foreign ministry.

News ID: 77460

Date: 19 May 2019 - 10:26

According to Al Arabiya citing a statement by Saudi foreign ministry, the Kingdom has invited Arab states and Persian Gulf leaders to two emergency summits, following recent “sabotage attacks” on four oil tankers, including two belonging to Saudi Arabia, off the coast of Fujairah in the UAE.

The statement by the Saudi foreign ministry also cites the retaliatory drone strikes carried out by Yemeni army forces on two major oil pumping stations in the Kingdom as another issue to be addressed in the summits.

The meetings are set for May 30 in Mecca, according to the report.

The attacks targeted four commercial vessels off the coast of Fujairah on May 12, as confirmed by the UAE. According to Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, the incident did not lead to any casualties or an oil spill but caused significant damage to the structures of the two Saudi vessels.

The cause of the explosions has not been ascertained and there has been no claim of responsibility.

Following the incident, Iran voiced concern about "adventurism by foreign players" to disrupt maritime navigation in the Persian Gulf region, describing the incident as "lamentable" and "worrying" and calling for thorough investigations.

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