Iran to Respond to Oil Tanker Attack: Top Security Official

TEHRAN (defapress) – Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani warned the parties behind a recent attack on an Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea that they will be given a response that would make them regret the move.

News ID: 78988

Date: 16 October 2019 - 15:53

In a meeting with Russian President's Special Envoy on Syria Alexander Lavrentiev on Wednesday, Shamkhani insecurity in international maritime routes was a dangerous factor that could lead to formation of regional crises.

He also underlined that the Islamic Republic will give a response to the elements behind the recent attack on Iran’s ‘Sabiti’ oil tanker in the Red Sea that would make them regret the move.

He said the perpetrators sought to create a new wave of tensions in the region.

Shamkhani also warned of a new American plot to revive the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group and spread insecurity in the Middle East, calling for vigilance and coordination among the regional countries for combatting the measures that result in instability and insecurity.

He denounced the use of double standards in the war against terrorism, stressing that a main priority in the fight against terrorism must be the settlement of issues in Syria’s Idlib.

Shamkhani voiced opposition to Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria, calling for an immediate end to any measure aggravating regional insecurity and crisis.

“Regional crises, such as those in Syria and Yemen, have no military solution and must be resolved through diplomacy and Syrian-Syrian and Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue,” the Iranian official said.

Any act of aggression and war against the regional countries would serve the destabilizing policies of the US and Israel, Shamkhani stated, adding that people of the countries who have grappled with wars and bloodshed for years could no more stand a new crisis.

For his part, the Russian envoy briefed Shamkhani on the political and military developments in northern Syria as well as Moscow’s negotiations with the warring sides.

Lavrentiev also said that mutual cooperation between Iran and Russia in the political and security spheres would prevent the revival and promotion of terrorism and guarantee sustainable stability and security across the region.

On Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran has found clues as to what happened recently to the Sabiti oil tanker off the coast of Saudi Arabia and has shared them with Pakistan.

“It is an absolute mistake for a country to think that it could create insecurity in the region without receiving a response,” Rouhani warned.

In comments on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also said Tehran has gained information confirming that the attack on Sabiti was carried out by a state or a number of states.

“The attack on the Iranian oil tanker has been a complicated measure… and was a state-sponsored action,” Zarif said.

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