RIYADH (Dispatches) -- A Saudi minister said on Sunday that Riyadh was not behind a strike against an Iranian-owned oil tanker which was hit on Friday by missiles in the Red Sea.
"We did not engage in such behavior at all. This is not how we operate and that’s not how we did (it) in the past,” Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Riyadh.
"The story is still not complete. So let’s wait and find out what happened before we jump to conclusions.”
His remarks came after Iran’s top security official said the country will not let attacks on its vessels go unanswered.
"Piracy and banditry in international waterways which is done with the aim of making commercial shipping insecure will not go unanswered," Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said.
The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) has said the SABITI tanker was hit by two separate explosions near the Saudi port city of Jeddah. The blasts caused an oil spill that was stopped shortly after.
Shamkhani said a special committee has been set up to investigate the attack on the SABITI tanker that was targeted by two missiles off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.
The top security official recalled "destructive moves" against other Iranian oil tankers in the Red Sea in recent months, citing the Happiness-1 and the Helm.
The Happiness-1 faced "engine failure” off Jeddah on April 30 and was later transferred to the Saudi port city for maintenance. The Saudis initially refused to let the vessel go, demanding some $10 million in maintenance fees before releasing it on July 20.
Iranian officials also said in August another oil tanker, the Helm, faced a technical failure while passing through the Red Sea.
"Creating insecurity in international waterways will bring out worrying risks for the world economy, the consequences of which will be the responsibility of planners, executives and supporters of such provocative actions," Shamkhani said.
Tensions have been high in the region after a series of suspicious explosions targeted oil tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year.