A cargo ship belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) was attacked in the Red Sea off the coast of Eritrea
No party has claimed the attack. However, an Israeli military analyst in late March that Israel had targeted Iranian oil tankers in several locations, from the Red Sea in the south to the Syrian coast in the north, stressing that the both sides didn’t publicize the attacks.
Pentagon Spokesperson Commander Jessica L. McNulty commented on the incident saying: “We are aware of media reporting of an incident involving the Saviz in the Red Sea. We can confirm that no US forces were involved in the incident. We have no additional information to provide.”
A report by the Wall Street Journal, citing Israeli and US sources, detailed that Israel conducted 12 attacks targeting Iranian ships in the past few years.
“Since late 2019, Israel has used weaponry including water mines to strike Iranian vessels or those carrying Iranian cargo as they navigate toward Syria in the Red Sea and in other areas of the region. Iran has continued its oil trade with Syria, shipping millions of barrels and contravening US sanctions against Iran and international sanctions against Syria,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
Iran has had its share of blame for attacks on tankers in the region. In February, an Israeli-owned cargo ship suffered an explosion and Israel’s defense minister Benny Gantz said the “initial assessment” was that Iran was behind the explosion. Tehran denied the charge.
In the tense summer of 2019, the US military blamed Iran for explosions on two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategic shipping lanes. The US also had attributed a series of other suspected attacks to Iran, including the use of limpet mines — designed to be attached magnetically to a ship’s hull — to cripple the four oil tankers off the nearby Emirati port of Fujairah.
Source : Media Sources
