Shawdesh desk:

An explosion damaged an Iranian oil tanker traveling through the Red Sea near Saudi Arabia on Friday, Iranian media reported.

There was no immediate word from Saudi Arabia on the reported blast, reports AP.

State television said the explosion damaged two storerooms aboard the unnamed oil tanker and caused an oil leak into the Red Sea. It did not elaborate.

All reports said the reported explosion happened off the coast of Jiddah on the Red Sea.

The reported explosion comes after the US has alleged that in past months Iran shooting down a US military surveillance drone near the Strait of Hormuz, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, something denied by Tehran.

The explosion could push tensions between Iran and the US.

The latest assault saw Saudi Arabia’s vital oil industry come under a drone-and-cruise-missile attack. The US has blamed Iran for the attack, something denied by Tehran. Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed that assault.