ALBAWABA - Iran's envoy to the UN said that the Houthi group in Yemen gave permission to let tugboats and rescue ships reach a damaged crude oil tanker in the Red Sea. Last week, the Houthis attacked the Greek-flagged vessel.
According to maritime officials, the Sounion tanker, which is transporting 150,000 tonnes, or 1 million barrels, of crude oil, poses a risk to the environment. Any spill might be among the biggest that has ever come from a ship in history.
Iran’s UN mission in New York said that "Several countries have reached out to … request a temporary truce for the entry of tugboats and rescue ships into the incident area,".
Mohammed Abdulsalam, a spokesman of the Houthis, told Reuters on Wednesday that the group had only decided to let the towing of the oil tanker Sounion after being approached by many foreign parties. He denied that there would be a brief ceasefire.
The Houthis threatened to strike the third party that attempted to deploy two tugs to assist in saving the Sounion, according to a Pentagon statement on Tuesday.
"The failure to provide aid and prevent an oil spill in the Red Sea stems from the negligence of certain countries, rather than concerns over the possibility of being targeted," the Iranian delegation to the UN stated in a statement on Wednesday.
