RIYADH:Saudi Arabia has called for urgent meetings of the regional Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League to discuss escalating tensions in the Gulf, the Saudi official news agency said on Saturday.
The Saudi Press Agency said King Salman had invited Gulf leaders and Arab states to two emergency summits in Makkah on May 30 to discuss recent "aggressions and their consequences" in the region.
Tensions have soared in the Gulf with the US deploying an aircraft carrier and bombers to the region over alleged threats from Iran.
Four ships including two Saudi oil tankers were damaged in mysterious sabotage attacks Sunday off Fujairah, an emirate located at the crucial entrance to the Gulf.
That incident was followed by drone strikes Tuesday by Yemen's Huthi rebels on a major Saudi oil pipeline, which provided an alternative export route if the Strait of Hormuz closed.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to prevent shipping in Hormuz in case of a military confrontation with the United States, which has imposed sanctions on Tehran in recent months
Despite international scepticism, the US government has been pointing to increasing threats from Iran, a long-time enemy and also a rival of US allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.
-
Poll reveals majority of Americans' views on Bad Bunny -
Man convicted after DNA links him to 20-year-old rape case -
California cop accused of using bogus 911 calls to reach ex-partner -
'Elderly' nanny arrested by ICE outside employer's home, freed after judge's order -
key details from Germany's multimillion-euro heist revealed -
Search for Savannah Guthrie’s abducted mom enters unthinkable phase -
Barack Obama addresses UFO mystery: Aliens are ‘real’ but debunks Area 51 conspiracy theories -
Rosie O’Donnell secretly returned to US to test safety