An official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that an oil ship connected to an Israeli tycoon was hit by a drone carrying a bomb off the coast of Oman during heightened tensions with Iran. The attack took place Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, according to the defence officer based in the Middle East. As they lacked authorization to discuss the incident in public, the official spoke on the condition of anonymity. We are aware of an incident, and it is currently being examined, a British military unit in the area that monitors shipping told the Associated Press.
According to the official, the oil tanker Pacific Zircon, which was flying the Liberian flag, was the target of the assault. A majority stake in the Singapore-based business Eastern Pacific Shipping, which manages the ship, is owned by Israeli millionaire Idan Ofer. On Wednesday, a phone call to Eastern Pacific went unanswered, and several emails went unanswered as well. Similar to that, there was no answer when I called the Israeli Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
Iran was initially suspected even though no one immediately claimed responsibility for the strike. Iran and Israel have been at war in the greater Middle East for a year, with some drone assaults focusing on Israeli-affiliated warships cruising the area.
Several incidents that took place off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in 2019 were also attributed to Iran by the United States. Following the U.S.’s unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with other world powers, Tehran started ramping up its nuclear program. The Israeli-affiliated oil tanker Mercer Street was hit by a alleged Iranian drone strike in 2021 off the coast of Oman, resulting in the deaths of two crew members.
The attack on the Pacific Zircon was not immediately reported by Iranian state media. On Wednesday, it wasn’t immediately obvious where the ship was. After leaving the Omani port of Sohar, the ship was located in the Arabian Sea by late Tuesday satellite tracking information given by MarineTraffic.com.
Non-proliferation specialists warn that since the collapse of the Iran nuclear agreement, the Islamic Republic now possesses enough enriched uranium to build at least one nuclear bomb if it so chooses, despite Tehran’s insistence that its program is peaceful. In the midst of months-long nationwide protests that are increasingly challenging its theocracy, Iran has also begun hitting out at perceived adversaries abroad.
Official claims bomb-carrying drone struck oil tanker off Oman.
