Oil pipeline plan can relieve pressure in Saudi-Iran row | The National

Oil pipeline plan can relieve pressure in Saudi-Iran row | The National:

"In the space of 36 hours, eight ships were hit in the Arabian Gulf. A Japanese tanker containing oil from the UAE was attacked by Iranian gunboats, and two ships were struck by Iraqi air attack.

In response to the escalation, war risk insurance premiums jumped 50 per cent, France sent three minesweepers to the Gulf of Oman, and the US president was asked if he would invoke the War Powers Act last used in 1941 weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, after which the US entered the Second World War.

This upsurge in fighting in the Gulf came in 1987, during the Tanker War phase of the Iran-Iraq conflict. Now the latest Saudi-Iranian rift has raised concerns that the proxy conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen might spill over into direct fighting or threats to energy infrastructure. Analysts have pointed to the perennial Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a third of seaborne oil trade."



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