Saudis, Kuwait file complaint at UN against Iran

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait late on Tuesday presented a complaint to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon regarding repeated transgressions and assaults committed by Iranian military boats over the waters of the submerged area adjacent to the area divided between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The permanent missions of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the UN, in the complaint, informed Ban of the Iranian assaults over the waters of the Divided Submerged Area, on which Saudi Arabia and Kuwait solely have exclusive sovereign rights to explore and benefit from its natural wealth.

According to the document, the latest incident of these infringements was committed by one vessel and two armed speedboats displaying the Iranian flag. Each boat had three armed individuals onboard, as this infringement took place at 13:35 on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, while another infringement of an Iranian Hendijan 1401 vessel took place at 07:32 on Thursday, April 21, 2016.

These two vessels and two boats approached the Al-Dorra well No. 3 (D3) in the Al-Dorra field (coordinates 63 58 28 North, 16 06 49 East) existing inside

the Saudi-Kuwaiti submerged divided zone, which may lead to confrontations that threaten peace and security in this region, noted the joint document. It is known that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait solely have exclusive rights to explore and benefit from the hydrocarbon wealth in the Dorra field and the divided submerged area.

The governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait express “their deep demurral and dissatisfaction about these repeated assaults and transgressions; and demand from the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to stop these transgressions and assaults in order to preserve their interests,” it stressed. It also asked for negotiations to begin with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as one party, and Iran as the other party, to determine the maritime delimitation separating the waters of the divided submerged area and the waters of the Iran in accordance with the provisions of international law. Nevertheless, both the governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait did not receive any response from the government of Iran despite their repeated call for negotiations to determine these borders, it noted. — KUNA