Jeddah Port attack divulges Iran's desperate desire to reassert regional influence
Iran tries to assert its power in the region by all means, one time using unmanned aerial vehicles and other times using bomb-laden boats.
Iran
is also keen on sending veiled messages to US President-Elect Joe Biden who
expressed interest in resuming negotiations with Iran on its nuclear file in
return for its suspension of its negative policies in the region, stopping the
supply of its militias in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon with arms and refraining from
threatening world energy supplies.
Port
of Jeddah
On
December 14, an oil tanker anchored at the Port of Jeddah was attacked by a
bomb-laden boat. Iran used the attack to flex its muscles as Biden prepares to
take over on January 20.
Saudi
Arabia described the attack as a terrorist one. It pointed fingers of
accusation at Iran and the Houthi militia in Yemen, which is allied to Tehran.
Oil
tankers' war
The
Port of Jeddah attack brings to mind what was known as the "oil tankers'
war" which took place during the Iran-Iraq war.
Iran
and Iraq kept attacking each others' oil tankers in their regional waters.
The
company owning the oil tanker attacked at the Port of Jeddah said it was
attacked by an outside force while it unloaded its contents.
The
attack caused fire to break out in the tanker, the company said.
Biden
in mind
Observers
believe that the latest attacks aim at pushing Biden and his advisors to
reconsider Iran's regional weight.
They
also aim at inducing the president-elect from allowing Israel to undermine
Iran's regional influence, they say.
