Analysts warn action needs to be taken over deepening tensions between the United States and Iran in the Gulf.
Iran-backed rebels attacking a Saudi oil pipeline with drones. A puzzling raid on oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Sabre-rattling between Washington and Tehran as US warships head to the region.
Many details remain unclear about events in the Gulf over the past few days.
But as facts emerge about apparent acts of sabotage, analysts on the oil-rich region warned that deepening tensions between the United States, its Gulf allies, and Iran could be coming to a head.
“There are more questions than answers right now, but it’s not looking good,” Eckart Woertz, an expert on Gulf security and energy markets at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, told Al Jazeera.
“The attack on the tankers and the oil pipeline must be viewed against the backdrop of a US military build-up in the Gulf and worsening relations with Iran since the US unilaterally pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal.”
Tensions have ratcheted up between the US and Iran following Washington’s decision this month to try and cut Iranian oil exports to zero and to send a US aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf in response to an unspecified threat.
“I don’t expect to see a full-scale land invasion, but I’m watching for military escalations by the US or Iranian proxies in Iraq and any other strikes on oil facilities that prove more effective and actually disrupt the flow of oil,” added Woertz.
