2 oil tankers sabotaged near UAE: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia said that two of its oil tankers came under attack off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), shortly after the latter said four of its vessels had been sabotaged amid rising tensions in the Gulf.

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Monday said two of its oil tankers were sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates causing "significant damage" to the vessels.

Attack on the one of the two vessels took place while it was on its way to be loaded with Saudi crude oil from the port of Ras Tanura, to be delivered to customers in the US, state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported quoting Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih.

However, the Energy Minister did not identify the tankers. Al-Falih also confirmed that the sabotage attack didnot cause any casualties or oil spill.

Al-Falih condemned the attack and said, "it aims at undermining the freedom of maritime navigation and security of oil supplies to consumers across the world."

Meanwhile, Emirati officials have declined to discuss on the nature of the sabotage.

The US has warned ships that "Iran or its proxies" could be targeting maritime traffic in the region.

The US is deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf to counter alleged threats from Tehran.