Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson confirmed that an “Iranian tanker has sustained damages after being targeted twice, at half-hourly intervals, from a place near its shipping route in the east of the Red Sea” on 10 October. He also indicated that “over the past few months, other acts of sabotage have been launched against Iranian oil tankers in the Red Sea”. Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani asserted that “piracy and evil deeds in international waterways, which are carried out with the aim of making commercial ships’ sailing insecure, will not go unanswered”. A senior Saudi official on 13 October disavowed any involvement, stating that “we did not engage in such behaviour at all. This is not how we operate… the story is still not complete. So let’s wait and find out what happened before we jump to conclusions”.