UNITED NATIONS: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have presented a joint letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressing strong objections to repeated violation of their countries' maritime boundaries by Iranian gunboats near Al-Dorra.
In the letter, the Kingdom’s Permanent Representative to the UN Abdullah Al-Moallimi and his Kuwaiti counterpart Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi protested the actions by Iran, namely repeated violations and attacks by Iran’s military boats on the submerged area adjacent to the split zone between the Kingdom and Kuwait, asserting that these military interventions by Iran are threatening the peace and security of the region.
Saudi Arabia has sovereign rights to the zone, while Kuwait is allowed exploration activities and the exploitation of the natural resources there.
The two ambassadors said in their letter that the latest of these transgressions was committed on April 2 by an Iranian vessel and two speedboats carrying the Iranian flag. There were three armed men on each boat. The other aggression was committed on April 21 by an Iranian Hendijan 1401 vessel.
The letter said that the two vessels and the two boats approached Al-Dorra well 3 in Al-Dorra field, an action that might lead to confrontations that would threaten the peace and security in the region.
The letter also stressed that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait both have exclusive rights to explore and benefit from the hydrocarbon wealth in the Al-Dorra field and the divided submerged area.
It also said that the Iranian government was asked at the beginning of the negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as one party, and the Iranian government as the other party, to determine the maritime borders that separate the waters of the divided area, in accordance with the provisions of international law, but the Iranian government did not respond.
In the letter, the Kingdom’s Permanent Representative to the UN Abdullah Al-Moallimi and his Kuwaiti counterpart Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi protested the actions by Iran, namely repeated violations and attacks by Iran’s military boats on the submerged area adjacent to the split zone between the Kingdom and Kuwait, asserting that these military interventions by Iran are threatening the peace and security of the region.
Saudi Arabia has sovereign rights to the zone, while Kuwait is allowed exploration activities and the exploitation of the natural resources there.
The two ambassadors said in their letter that the latest of these transgressions was committed on April 2 by an Iranian vessel and two speedboats carrying the Iranian flag. There were three armed men on each boat. The other aggression was committed on April 21 by an Iranian Hendijan 1401 vessel.
The letter said that the two vessels and the two boats approached Al-Dorra well 3 in Al-Dorra field, an action that might lead to confrontations that would threaten the peace and security in the region.
The letter also stressed that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait both have exclusive rights to explore and benefit from the hydrocarbon wealth in the Al-Dorra field and the divided submerged area.
It also said that the Iranian government was asked at the beginning of the negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as one party, and the Iranian government as the other party, to determine the maritime borders that separate the waters of the divided area, in accordance with the provisions of international law, but the Iranian government did not respond.
