The Saudi Royal Family made a statement through their Minister of Foreign affairs on Sunday, criticising Iran’s seizure of a British tanker in international waters as “completely unacceptable” and for action to be taken against their Shiite neighbours. The Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, took to twitter to voice their anger:
Any attack on the freedom of navigation is a violation of international law. Iran must realize that its acts of intercepting ships, including most recently the British ship, are completely unacceptable. The world community must take actions to deter such behavior
— Adel Aljubeir عادل الجبير (@AdelAljubeir) 21 July 2019
Britain has already urged Tehran to de-escalate rising tensions in the Gulf by releasing the illegally seized tanker in Omani waters. Iran is claiming that the tanker was seized for breaking “international maritime rules” and has remained defiant to US and European calls for the release of the ship and its crew.
“The ship was seized under false and illegal pretences and the Iranians should release it and its crew immediately,” British Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman told reporters today.
“We do not seek confrontation with Iran but it is unacceptable and highly escalatory to seize a ship going about legitimate business through internationally recognised shipping lanes.”
This is the latest incident with an oil tanker in Gulf waters, with two Saudi oil tankers having previously been attacked by Iranian forces only two months ago.