Israeli cargo ship hit by ‘Iranian’ missile in Arabian Sea

Israeli cargo ship is hit by ‘Iranian’ missile in the Arabian Sea

  • Israeli-owned cargo ship was struck by a missile in the Arabian Sea on Thursday 
  • Security officials in Israel said they believed Iran was behind the attack
  • The ship was on its way from Tanzania to India and was able to continue onward
  • Ship owned by XT Management, based in Haifa, was not badly damaged

An Israeli cargo ship was today struck with a missile in the Arabian Sea in a suspected attack by Iran.

A security source in Israel said the vessel was on its way from Tanzania to India when it was struck on Thursday.

Nobody was injured and the vessel was only lightly damaged, able to continue its journey to the city of Mundra on India’s west coast.

The Liberian-flagged ship is owned by XT Management, based in the Israeli port city of Haifa.  

The vessel was struck as it travelled from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Mundra on the west coast of India

Reuters could not reach officials at the company for comment. Israeli government officials had no official comment.

It comes about a month after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran for an explosion aboard an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman. 

The vehicle-carrier MV Helios Ray was hit between the night of Feb 25 and morning of February 26 by a blast above the water line that a U.S official said ripped holes in both sides of its hull. An Israeli official said limpet mines were used.

“Iran is the greatest enemy of Israel, I am determined to halt it. We are hitting it in the entire region,” Netanyahu said. 

But Iran denied the allegation that it was behind the ship explosion, accusing Netanyahu of suffering from ‘an obsession with Iran’. 

Hours before Netanyahu accused the Iranians, missile strikes were launched at Iranian troops based in Syria. 

Syrian air defences intercepted what they said were Israeli missiles over Damascus, in an area where Iranian Revolutionary Guards and their Hezbollah allies are believed to be present.

The Israeli army had refused to confirm its involvement in the missile launch towards Syria, where there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured, said Israel was 'striking back' at its 'greatest enemy' Iran as he blamed the Islamic republic for an attack on an Israeli-owned ship last week

Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured, said Israel was ‘striking back’ at its ‘greatest enemy’ Iran as he blamed the Islamic republic for an attack on an Israeli-owned ship last week  

The damaged Israeli-owned cargo ship Helios Ray sits at a port in Dubai on Sunday following the blast last week which Netanyahu is blaming on Iran

The damaged Israeli-owned cargo ship Helios Ray sits at a port in Dubai on Sunday following the blast last week which Netanyahu is blaming on Iran 

Iran has sought to pressure the U.S. to lift sanctions on Tehran as President Joe Biden’s administration considers option for returning to negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.

Biden has said repeatedly the U.S. would return to the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that his predecessor, Donald Trump, withdrew from in 2018 only after Iran restores its full compliance with the accord. 

The recent explosions on Israeli-owned ships recalls the tense summer of 2019, when the U.S. military accused Iran of attacking several oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman with limpet mines, designed to be attached magnetically to a ship’s hull.

The Gulf of Oman leads through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for the world’s oil supplies. Tehran has denied the accusations that it was behind the limpet mine attacks.