ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates said Friday that twin attacks on tankers in the Sea of Oman just weeks after four ships were damaged off the UAE marked a 鈥渄angerous escalation.鈥�
鈥淭he attack against the tankers in the Gulf of Oman is a worrying development and a dangerous escalation,鈥� the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, tweeted after Thursday鈥檚 blasts.
Gargash also condemned the Houthi militia missile attack which wounded 26 civilians at an airport in southwestern 黑料社区 on Wednesday.
He said the 鈥渂latant attack on civilians鈥� was only the latest in a spate of rebel assaults 鈥渦ndermining the UN鈥檚 political work and sending a message of continuing violence and hostility.鈥�
These developments 鈥渕ust spur the international community to act to maintain peace and security in the region,鈥� Gargash said.
鈥淭he responsibility for avoiding an escalation is collective.鈥�

The two tankers, one Norwegian-operated and one Japanese-owned, were set ablaze in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Iran on Thursday, escalating tensions across the region and sending world oil prices soaring.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was strong evidence of Iran鈥檚 culpability, after US Central Command reported seeing an Iranian patrol boat removing an 鈥渦nexploded limpet mine鈥� from the hull of one of the vessels.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif charged that the US administration had 鈥渋mmediately jumped to make allegations against Iran without a shred of factual or circumstantial evidence.鈥�

He accused it of seeking to 鈥渟abotage diplomacy鈥� as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Tehran in a bid to ease Iran-US tensions.

In a subsequent tweet, Gargash said Zarif鈥檚 鈥渃redibility (is) diminishing.鈥�

"Every single day Iran鈥檚 Foreign Minister Zarif鈥檚 reference to team B becomes more farcical and his credibility diminishing," Gargash tweeted. "Public relations is no real substitute to constructive policies. De-escalation in current situation requires wise actions not empty words."

Thursday鈥檚 incidents came a month after four oil tankers 鈥� two Saudi, one Norwegian and one Emirati 鈥� were damaged in still unexplained attacks off the nearby UAE port of Fujairah.