Missiles Strike Iranian Oil Tanker Near Saudi Arabia Coast

An Iranian tanker traveling through the Red Sea off the coast of Saudi Arabia exploded after being struck by two missiles.

The oil tanker was 60 miles off Jeddah, a port city in Saudi Arabia when the explosion took place. According to reports from the Iranian media, the attack took place between 5:00 and 5:20 a.m. local time damaging two storage tanks in the vessel and causing an oil spill in the Red Sea.

Officials from Iran’s national oil company (NOIC), to whom the vessel belonged, claimed that the oil tanker name SABITY was possibly hit by two missiles that caused two explosions. However, no further proof of the same was offered by them.

According to local news reports, experts and analysts believe it to be a terrorist attack, however, they also seemed wary of the role of Saudi in the incident.

“The oil tanker named SABITY belonging to the company sustained damages to the body when it was hit by missiles 60 miles (96 kilometers) from the Saudi port city of Jiddah,” the state-run IRNA said.

None of the crew members were reportedly injured in the explosion and the situation is currently under control. According to BBC, this tanker regularly ferried oil to the Syrian government despite the prohibitions.

The oil prices rose by 2% in trading on Friday, to cross over $60 per barrel after the incident.

This attack comes weeks after Saudi blamed Iran for the attack on its major oil field, which halved the output of the nation. Though Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed to have done it, experts believe the missiles used in the attack did not have the range to reach the Saudi oil fields from Yemen.

Saudi officials have declined to comment on the incident that could lead to heightened military tensions between the two countries in the middle east.

The U.S had alleged in the past month that Iran had attacked the oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, something that was denied by Tehran.