DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An oil tanker related to an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman amid heightened tensions with Iran, an official advised The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The assault on the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon occurred Tuesday evening off the coast of Oman, the Mideast-based protection official mentioned. The official spoke on situation of anonymity as they didn’t have authorization to debate the assault publicly.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British navy group within the area monitoring transport, advised the AP: “We are aware of an incident and it’s being investigated at this time.”
The Pacific Zircon is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is an organization in the end owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.
In a press release, Eastern Pacific Shipping mentioned the Pacific Zircon, carrying gasoline oil, had been “hit by a projectile” some 150 miles (240 kilometers) off the coast of Oman.
“We are in communication with the vessel and there is no reports of injuries or pollution. All crew are safe and accounted for,” the corporate mentioned. “There is some minor damage to the vessel’s hull but no spillage of cargo or water ingress.”
A name to the Israeli Embassy in Abu Dhabi rang unanswered. Israel’s prime minister workplace and its protection ministry declined to remark.
Oil costs rose barely as information of the assault unfold, with benchmark Brent crude buying and selling above $94 a barrel.
While nobody instantly claimed duty for the assault, suspicion instantly fell on Iran. Tehran and Israel have been engaged in a yearslong shadow warfare within the wider Middle East, with some drone assaults concentrating on Israeli-associated vessels touring across the area.
The U.S. additionally blamed Iran for a sequence of assaults occurring off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in 2019. Tehran then had begun escalating its nuclear program following the U.S.′ unilateral withdraw from its atomic cope with world powers.
In 2021, a suspected Iranian drone strike hit the Israeli-associated oil tanker Mercer Street off Oman, killing two individuals onboard.
Iranian state media didn’t instantly acknowledge the assault on the Pacific Zircon. It wasn’t instantly clear the place the vessel was Wednesday. Satellite-tracking knowledge from late Tuesday supplied by MarineTraffic.com put the vessel deep within the Arabian Sea after leaving the Omani port of Sohar.
Since the collapse of Iran’s nuclear deal, nonproliferation consultants warn the Islamic Republic now has enough enriched uranium to make at least one nuclear weapon if it chose, although Tehran insists its program is peaceable.
Iran additionally has been lashing out at its perceived enemies overseas amid monthslong nationwide protests now difficult its theocracy.
Torbjorn Soltvedt, an analyst on the threat intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, mentioned the assault “does not come as a surprise.”
“The risk of attacks against shipping and energy infrastructure in the wider region is rising mainly due to the lack of progress in U.S.-Iranian nuclear diplomacy and the decision by the Washington to apply further sanctions pressure on Iran,” he mentioned. “Since 2019, Iran has consistently responded to new U.S. sanctions with covert military action in the region.”
He added: “There is not just an increasing risk of disruptive attacks against energy infrastructure in the region, but also a growing risk of a wider military confrontation with more serious consequences for world energy markets.”
The oil tanker assault additionally comes comes simply days forward of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. While Doha maintains good relations with Tehran, with whom it shares a large pure offshore pure gasoline area, Israelis will likely be attending the event. Iran’s nationwide staff additionally will face Britain and the U.S. in first-round matches, two international locations it accuses of fomenting the unrest.
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Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg and Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
