Saudi denies involvement in Iran tanker attack in Red Sea

Saudi Arabia said it had no involvement in Friday’s attack on an Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea that caused a spike of more than 2 per cent in crude prices.

“We don’t engage in such behaviour,” minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said in Riyadh Sunday. “Besides, there are conflicting reports about this,” he said, referring to initial Iranian claims of an attack coming from the direction of Saudi Arabia, and the subsequent withdrawal of that accusation.

The incident, the latest in a series of strikes on oil infrastructure in the region that have roiled energy markets, comes weeks after a devastating attack on major Saudi oil facilities that Riyadh blamed on Tehran.