Saudi Arabia claims that its boats have been severely affected. United Arab Emirates says the attack has taken place in its waters. And when the two allies of the United States raise their voices, Iran is back in a spotlight.

Since Donald Trump is President of the United States, one of the keys to his foreign policy has been to squeeze the country and the weekend events have given them a good excuse to climb a step in that direction.

The Riyadh Government has assured that the Sunday incident will prevent the attacked ships from exporting crude oil to the United States. Following the Iranian oil sanctions imposed by the United States last November, the attack has been presented as a Tehran led revenge, although on Monday Iran denied any connection with the attack.

Other strands are also intertwined in a timber that is becoming increasingly confused in the Persian Gulf, according to Martin Chulov in The Guardian newspaper: Iran’s influence on the Arab world, its opposition to Israel, its intention to combat the change of order in the region or its influence on the wars in Syria and Yemen, among others.

And, of course, oil. Trump’s anti-Iranian oil measures increased tension and the fact that last May the White House tenant rose from the table of the US nuclear deal. Since then, Tehran has maintained the commitments made under that agreement. Until last week, the government announced that it was not going to comply with some of the points of the agreement and that it was not going to discuss a new version of the pact.

Meanwhile, the US sanctions have hit the Iranian economy harshly. It gives the impression that the United States is not only following that path, but is also seeking to bring the situation to the border. On Monday, the US administration alerted citizens residing in Iraq and neighbouring countries in the area. The risk has been unprecedented in the last 15 years.