L’attaque de pétroliers en mer d’Oman ravive les tensions dans le Golfe persique

Par Assane Seye On Juin 14, 2019

A picture obtained by AFP from Iranian State TV IRIB on June 13, 2019 reportedly shows smoke billowing from a tanker said to have been attacked off the coast of Oman, at un undisclosed location. The crews of two oil tankers were evacuated off the coast of Iran today after they were reportedly attacked and caught fire in the Gulf of Oman, sending world oil prices soaring. The mystery incident, the second involving shipping in the strategic sea lane in only a few weeks, came amid spiralling tensions between Tehran and Washington, which has pointed the finger at Iran over tanker attacks in May. Iran said its navy had rescued 44 crew members after the two vessels caught fire in "accidents" off its coast. - == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / IRIB" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED - NO RESALE -NO ACCESS lSRAEL MEDIA -PERSIAN LANGUAGE TV STATIONS OUTSIDE IRAN - STRICTLY NO ACCESS BBC PERSIAN == / AFP / IRIB TV / HO / == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / IRIB" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED - NO RESALE -NO ACCESS lSRAEL MEDIA -PERSIAN LANGUAGE TV STATIONS OUTSIDE IRAN - STRICTLY NO ACCESS BBC PERSIAN ==

Même lieu, même cible et même accusé. Jeudi 13 juin, un mois et un jour après le sabotage de quatre navires en face de l’émirat de Foujeyra, deux nouveaux pétroliers, l’un japonais et l’autre norvégien, ont été pris pour cibles en mer d’Oman, à la sortie du golfe Arabo-Persique. Quelques heures seulement après les faits, les Etats-Unis ont accusé l’Iran d’être à l’origine de ces nouvelles attaques, qui n’ont pas fait de victimes. Ces actions contribuent à accroître la tension dans le Golfe, voie maritime stratégique, par où transite un cinquième de la demande de pétrole mondiale, et théâtre d’un dangereux bras de fer entre l’Iran d’un côté et l’axe américano-saoudien de l’autre.

Saliou Ndiaye