Iran denies Saudi captured three Revolutionary Guards, says they are fishermen

Iran on Monday denied Saudi Arabia’s allegations that it captured three Revolutionary Guards on board an explosive vessel headed for an oil field in the Gulf.

“The identity of the three individuals is known, they are from Bushire (port in southern Iran) and were fishing when they were arrested by the Saudi coast guards,” An Iranian official stated.

The incident comes amid already strained relations between Riyadh and Tehran which have been rapidly deteriorating since the beginning of the Qatar crisis.

On Sunday, Iran has launched six ballistic missiles into Syria, targeting positions of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists in retaliation for the twin attacks in Tehran earlier this month.

The assault was not only aimed at sending a message to IS, but also to the US and Saudi Arabia.Tehran had repeatedly accused the Saudis and Washington of supporting terrorists and trying to destabilize Iran.

“The Saudis and Americans are especially receivers of this message,” Gen. Ramazan Sharif of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Monday, according to state television, cited by AP. “Obviously and clearly, some reactionary countries of the region, especially Saudi Arabia, had announced that they are trying to bring insecurity into Iran.”

On Saturday, Iran said that Saudi coastguard opened fire on two Iranian fishing boats in Persian Gulf, killing one fisherman.

“This Saudi move is not compatible with human principles and even assuming that the boats had crossed Saudi borders due to sea waves, they were not authorized to shoot at the Iranian boats,” Tasnim news agency quoted Iran’s Interior Ministry’s Director General for Border Affairs Majid Aqa Babaei as saying. “This move by the Saudis was incompatible with human and maritime principles.”

It remains unclear whether Iran and Saudi Arabia referred to the same incident or not.

RT contributed to this report

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