TEHRAN – Saeed Khatibzadeh, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, has said that Iran rejects any sabotage act in the Red Sea after a fuel tanker was hit by an explosion at the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah.

Responding to the explosion, Khatibzadeh said in a statement on Wednesday, “The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects any move and sabotage activities against the safety and security of navigation and the freedom of international trade.”

The spokesman also expressed hope that the countries of the region would increase their efforts to enhance cooperation to ensure maritime security, combat piracy and counter illegal trade.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia announced that a ship was hit by an explosion in Jeddah.

Citing an official spokesman at the Saudi Ministry of Energy, the official Saudi Press Agency said that a fuel transport ship, anchored in the fuel terminal in Jeddah, was attacked by an explosive-laden boat in the early hours of this morning.

“The attack resulted in a small fire, which emergency units successfully extinguished. The incident did not result in any casualties, and there was no damage caused to the unloading facilities, nor any effect on supplies,” the agency said.