Saudi Arabia calls urgent Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab League meetings on 30 May over fresh tensions with Iran

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has called for urgent meetings of the regional Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League to discuss escalating tensions in the Gulf, the Saudi official news agency said on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_6617841” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Saudi Arabia Flag. WikiMedia Commons[/caption] The Saudi Press Agency said King Salman had invited Gulf leaders and Arab states to two emergency summits in Mecca on 30 May to discuss recent “aggressions and their consequences” in the region. Tensions have soared in the Gulf with the US deploying an aircraft carrier and bombers to the region over alleged threats from Iran. Four ships including two Saudi oil tankers were damaged in mysterious sabotage attacks Sunday off Fujairah, an emirate located at the crucial entrance to the Gulf. That incident was followed by drone strikes Tuesday by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a major Saudi oil pipeline, which provided an alternative export route if the Strait of Hormuz closed. Iran has repeatedly threatened to prevent shipping in Hormuz in case of a military confrontation with the United States, which has imposed sanctions on Tehran in recent months Despite international scepticism, the US government has been pointing to increasing threats from Iran, a long-time enemy and also a rival of US allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.