DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it joined a U.S.-led coalition to secure the Mideast’s waterways amid threats from Iran after an attack targeting its crucial oil industry.
The kingdom’s decision to enter the International Maritime Security Construct came ahead of a planned visit by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Saudi officials separately planned to share information about the weapons used to attack a Saudi oil field and the world’s largest crude oil processing plant Saturday.
Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed the attack, but the U.S. and Saudi Arabia say they suspect Iran carried out the assault. Iran denies that, though it comes amid a summer of heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over its unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency carried a statement Wednesday morning quoting an unnamed official saying the kingdom had joined the International Maritime Security Construct.
Australia, Bahrain and the United Kingdom already have joined the mission.