Houthis agree to rescue of stricken oil tanker
Tugboats and rescue ships will secure the crippled Sounion to prevent an oil spill
Tugboats and rescue ships will secure the crippled Sounion to prevent an oil spill
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Yemen’s Houthis have agreed to a temporary truce to allow for an oil tanker targeted by the rebels — now at risk of causing an oil spill — to be secured, Iran’s mission to the UN said Wednesday.
The Greek-owned Sounion was hit by the Tehran-backed militant group off the coast of Hodeida last week, sparking fires and the evacuation of its crew.
“Several countries have reached out to ask Ansarullah, requesting a temporary truce for the entry of tugboats and rescue ships into the incident area,” citing the fires and “subsequent environmental hazards,” Iran’s mission said, using an alternate name for the Houthis.
“Ansarullah has consented to this request,” it said, adding any “failure to provide aid and prevent an oil spill in the Red Sea stems from the negligence of certain countries” rather than the risk of being targeted by the Houthis.
The Yemeni rebels have waged a campaign against international shipping passing through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that they say is intended to signal solidarity with Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the Houthis previously said the Sounion “belongs to a company that has ties with the Israeli enemy” and was “accurately and directly hit” with drones and missiles.
The vessel had departed from Iraq and was destined for a port near Athens, carrying 150,000 metric tons of crude oil, according to the European Union’s Red Sea naval mission, Aspides.
The European Union naval force, formed in February to protect merchant vessels from attacks by the Houthis, warned last week that the ship “now represents a navigational and environmental hazard.”
The Houthis will continue to target oil tankers “bound for the Israeli regime,” the Iranian statement added, “as long as the war on Gaza persists.”
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