Saudi Arabia's Complaint Against Iran for Violating Maritime Borders

The official Saudi news agency reported on Tuesday, July 9, that the country has filed a formal complaint against the Islamic Republic of Iran "for violating its maritime boundaries." Riyadh has taken its complaint to the United Nations and warned Iran about the "consequences of this aggression." According to the Saudi official news report, Riyadh has complained about the "violation of maritime boundaries by the Iranian regime and the entry of Iranian boats into Saudi Arabia's prohibited oil areas in the waters of" the Persian Gulf. Riyadh describes its claim based on "maritime borders" that were "established in 1968." Abdullah Al-Mualimi, the Saudi representative at the United Nations, stated: "Despite our protest letter to the Iranian government and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, we continue to witness violations of our maritime rights by Iranian boats and their entry into prohibited oil areas..." He further stated that his country holds Iran "fully responsible for the consequences of this aggression." The Saudi news report, citing an official statement from Saudi Arabia, referred to two instances of these "aggressions" in 2016 and two in 2017 without providing details. The passage of fishing vessels across maritime borders, which has led to the seizure of these vessels and the detention of their crew members, has been frequently reported in recent years by Iranian media and other countries in the Persian Gulf region. In addition to Saudi Arabia, Kuwaiti and Qatari officials have also periodically reported the detention of Iranian vessels and their crew members. In this context, the director of public relations for the fisheries in Bushehr announced in May of this year that two fishermen residing on Kharg Island, who were arrested by the Saudi coast guard last year, were released on Friday, May 18.