An American military team assessing blasts that damaged four commercial ships off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday has blamed Iran or Iranian-backed proxies using explosive charges, a source told Fox News on Monday.

Each ship had a 5-to-10-foot hole in it, near or just below the water line, a US official had earlier told The Associated Press. A Norwegian-flagged vessel, two Saudi oil tankers and a bunkering tanker flagged in Sharjah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, all suffered similar damage Sunday.

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The UAE asked the US to help investigate the damage, which Gulf officials have characterized as sabotage. UAE’s state media said Sunday there had been “no injuries or fatalities on board the vessels” and “no spillage of harmful chemicals or fuel.”

The US has warned ships that “Iran or its proxies” could be targeting maritime traffic in the region, and America has moved additional ships and aircraft into the region.

Earlier on Monday, the Saudi Energy Minister said that two of the ships that were attacked were Saudi oil tankers that were en route to the United States.

The minister, Khalid al-Falih, said the two tankers were hit in what he called “a sabotage attack”. The attack caused “significant damage” to the ships, he added…. (Excerpted from Israel National News, article by Elad Benari)