Houthis agree to temporary truce to withdraw “Sunion”

NEW YORK – Iran’s mission to the United Nations announced on Wednesday that the Houthi group had agreed to a temporary truce to allow tugboats and rescue ships to reach an oil tanker that is still on fire in the Red Sea, amid the escalating risk of an oil spill.

The Iranian mission added that several countries had contacted the Houthis to request “a temporary truce to allow tugboats and rescue ships to enter the area of ​​the incident.” It added that “in consideration of humanitarian and environmental concerns, the Houthis agreed to this request.”

The Pentagon said on Tuesday that a number of projectiles hit the Greek-flagged tanker Sunion off the Yemeni coastal city of Hodeidah last week, and that the tanker was still on fire and oil was apparently leaking. The Houthis claimed responsibility for attacking the tanker, which was loaded with 150,000 tons of crude oil.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam told Reuters on Wednesday that there was no temporary truce, and that the group had only agreed to allow the Sunion oil tanker to be towed after being contacted by several international parties.

Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said Tuesday that a third party tried to send two tugs to help rescue the tanker, but the Houthis threatened to attack them.

In “solidarity with Gaza”, which is facing a devastating Israeli war with broad American support, the Houthis targeted Israeli or Israeli-linked cargo ships with missiles and drones in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.

Houthi attacks have sunk two ships and killed at least three sailors during their 10-month campaign that has disrupted international shipping by forcing ship operators to avoid the Suez Canal.

The largest recorded oil spill in the shipping industry dates back to 1979, when about 287,000 tons of crude oil leaked from the tanker Atlantic Empress after it collided with another crude tanker in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Tobago during a storm, according to data from the International Tanker Owners Association Limited, which is concerned with pollution.