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One or several govts. involved in SABITI tanker attack: Zarif

Iranian FM Mohamamd Javad Zarif said on Tuesday that the Friday attack on Iranian oil tanker, SABITI, was carried out by one or several governments.

According to the obtained data, the attack was carried out by one or several governments, said Zarif, adding that Iran will refrain from making any accusations for now as the investigation is still in progress.

The attack was a complex operation and was backed by a government, he added.

According to the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), two explosions hit the Iranian oil tanker SABITI operated by the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) near the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Friday. The two explosions, ‘likely by missiles’, have hit the vessel at 5:00 and 5:20 AM on Friday some 60 miles off Jeddah, said NITC in a Friday statement.

It said that the explosion has hit the vessel’s hull, causing heavy damages to the vessel’s main reservoirs, which had resulted in an oil spill in the Red Sea.

Technical experts on the oil tanker and experts in NITC headquarters are still investigating the cause of the explosions.

Sardashti announced on Saturday that SABITI is en route home and would arrive in Iran within 9 or 10 days.

Iran ready for next FATF summit

Addressing the expiration of the four-month FATF deadline for Iran, Zarif said “considerable measures have been taken to get prepared for the next FATF summit and the foreign ministry will do its best to prevent the country from incurring losses.”

Tahoon bin Zayed not in Tehran

The Iranian diplomat, elsewhere, rejected the rumors about the trip of Tahnoun bin Zayed, UAE national security adviser and crown prince’s brother to Iran, saying “I have looked into this rumor, and I can confirm that it is not true.”

Some media cited a senior security source in the UAE on Monday that Tahnoun bin Zayed has been in Tehran for the last 48 hours on a secret mission aiming to defuse the tensions in the Persian Gulf.

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