The United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan urged on Saturday world powers to help secure maritime traffic and energy supplies, saying Iran’s fingerprints were clear on oil tanker attacks in the Gulf on May 12.
"The international community must cooperate to secure international navigation and access to energy," said Sheikh Abdullah said during a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart Ekaterina Zaharieva in Sofia.
"We are in a complex region that has many resources, whether gas or oil, that are necessary for the world. We want the flow of said resources to remain safe and to ensure the stability of the global economy. We must also secure our peoples and our economies," he added, according to the UAE news agency (WAM).
"For us, the attacks on four oil tankers in the UAE's territorial waters are evidence that we, alongside our various partner countries, have identified as underwater explosions, utilizing sophisticated technologies."
"These capabilities," he noted, "are not present in illegal non-state actors or groups. These are disciplined processes carried out by a state. However, until now, there is insufficient evidence to point to a particular country."
He went on to say that the area where the incidents took place has vital economic and geopolitical significance and that interruptions like the four attacks can lead to impeding the global supply of oil.
Sheikh Abdullah explained that there were some 184 oil and shipping vessels, among others, in the area where the first attacks took place last month.
"This was a real threat to global maritime shipping," he warned.
Sheikh Abdullah reiterated: “We must work together to spare the region from escalation and give the voice of wisdom a chance.”
"We have to work together to remove these tensions. We hoped that the efforts of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would succeed. The German foreign minister was present a few days ago in the region and we remain hopeful in attaining a broader framework for cooperation with Iran."
"The P5+1 deal," he added, "had two major flaws. The first being the lack of involvement with regional countries during the dialogue process. The second, not containing Iran's ballistic missiles capabilities, and its interference in the internal affairs of neighboring countries."
"Real regional security and stability will only be attained when regional actors work together. Our region is the main energy supplier to the world; our safety and security is key to ensuring prosperity and stability for all," stressed Sheikh Abdullah.
