Oil tanker set on fire in attack arrives off United Arab Emirates coast

The Norwegian-owned oil tanker Front Altair, which caught fire after being apparently attacked last week in the Gulf of Oman, has arrived off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

The ship's position was some 20 miles off the coast of the Emirati port city of Khorfakkan yesterday.

The Front Altair caught fire after the attack Thursday, sending a thick cloud of black smoke visible even by satellite from space.

On Saturday, Associated Press journalists saw the crew members of Front Altair after their Iran Air flight from Bandar Abbas, Iran, landed at Dubai International Airport.

The US has blamed Iran for what it described as an attack with limpet mines on the two tankers.

Tehran rejects the allegation, instead accusing the US under President Donald Trump of pursuing an "Iranophobic" campaign against it.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says the kingdom isn't seeking war in the region, but won't hesitate to deal with any threats to its people and vital interests.

In his first public remarks since attacks last month on oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, the powerful Saudi prince accused Iran of using militias to destabilise the region.

He said the attacks days earlier on vessels in the Gulf of Oman, as well as on an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia and a civilian airport in the kingdom's southern city of Abha, "confirm the importance of our demands of the international community to take a decisive stance" against Iran's behaviour.

He made the remarks in an interview published today by the pan-Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.

Source: www.tvnz.co.nz