Fujairah attack raises tension in region, says Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed

The attack on the four ships off the coast Fujairah is not only an attack on the UAE, but on the countries whose vessels were struck, namely, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Norway, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, told a press conference in the presence of German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Sunday evening at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Abu Dhabi.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed said, “We discussed with the German Foreign Minister issues related to Iran, Yemen, Libya and Palestine.

“The incident off the coast off Fujairah is an attack on the safety of international navigation and raise the tension in the region.

“The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway continue to investigate to report to the United Nations Security Council, the details of the attack off the coast of Fujairah.”

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed said, “The agreement with Iran, along with the nuclear deal, should include a cessation of its support to terrorism and ballistic missile programmes.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, “We communicate with Iran regarding the its commitment to the nuclear deal and work on the adherence to it.”

Maas said, “I will inform Iran tomorrow that the European Union rejected its missile programmes.”

Maas will meet with Iranian officials on Monday in Tehran.

Maas earlier said, "We are still in agreement that reaching a two-state solution through negotiations is the only solution,"

Maas made the statement in Amman with his Jordanian counterpart.

Washington is gearing up to roll out economic aspects of its plan at a conference in Bahrain later this month, but it is not yet clear when its political details will be unveiled.

The Palestinians have already rejected the deal, citing a string of moves by US President Donald Trump they say show his administration is irredeemably biased.

"We and Germany agree that the two-state solution is the only way to end the conflict," Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said.

The Permanent Representatives to the United Nations of the UAE, Norway, and Saudi Arabia on Thursday briefed members of the United Nations Security Council on the preliminary findings of the investigation into the coordinated attacks on four oil tankers that took place on the morning of 12th May 2019 off the port of Fujairah.

The affected states stressed that the attacks endangered international commercial navigation and the security of global energy supplies, and threatened international peace and security. The assessment of the damage to the four vessels and the chemical analysis of the debris recovered revealed it was highly likely that limpet mines were used in the attacks on the four vessels, the statement revealed.