UAE condemns Iranian hostile attacks on national oil tankers

The United Arab Emirates has condemned and denounced in the strongest terms the Iranian hostile attacks that targeted the national oil tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah with two Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz, within Omani territorial waters.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) affirmed that the Iranian hostile attack resulted in the death of one Indian national and the injury of eight others, including four who sustained serious injuries. The injured comprise six Indian nationals and two Ukrainian nationals. The Ministry extended its sincere condolences and sympathy to the family of the victim, as well as to the Government and people of the Republic of India, and wished all the injured a speedy recovery.

The Ministry underscored that this Iranian hostile attack constitutes a flagrant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2817, which affirmed the importance of freedom of navigation, and rejected the targeting of commercial vessels or the obstruction of international maritime routes.

The Ministry emphasized that targeting commercial shipping and using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of economic coercion or blackmail constitutes an act of piracy and poses a direct threat to the stability of the region, its peoples, and global energy security.

The UAE stressed the need for Iran to halt these unprovoked attacks, ensure its full commitment to an immediate cessation of all hostilities, and the complete and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in order to safeguard regional security, and maintain the stability of the global economy and trade.

WAM