UPDATED 7:07 AM EST, January 10, 2013
Iran seized two Saudi fishing vessels and its crews, according to reports in Iranian state media conveyed earlier this week by Reuters. The state-controlled Fars news agency declared that the vessels had entered Iranian waters. The incident is the second time in two weeks that Iran has seized Saudi vessels, and for their part the Saudis detained two Iranian boats on January 3. The incidents comes after a series of harsh GCC statements blasting Iranian territorial claims in the Gulf, and serve as a reminder of on-going tensions between Arab states and Tehran. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have publicly and privately urged the U.S. to undertake military action to degrade widely suspected weaponization aspects of Iran's atomic program.
