Israeli-Owned Ship Hit With Missile in Gulf of Oman

Israeli officials speaking to the media say Iran is suspected, although it is Israel that frequently targets ships in the region

According to Israeli media reports, an Israeli-owned ship was struck by a missile in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday. The Liberian-flagged container ship Lori departed Tanzania on March 21st and was hit while transiting to India and was only lightly damaged.

Anonymous Israeli officials said Iran was suspected of the attack, a country Israel is always quick to blame for these incidents. On February 26th, another Israeli ship was affected by an explosion that Israeli officials publicly blamed on Iran. But Tehran denied responsibility for the blast.

Both Israel and the US frequently blame Iran for similar attacks on ships in the region without providing evidence. While it’s not clear if Tehran is responsible for these incidents, if they were, the Islamic Republic would have plenty of motive.

Earlier this month, a report from The Wall Street Journal said that since 2019, Israel had attacked at least 12 ships in the region. The targeted vessels were bound for Syria and were mostly Iranian or carrying Iranian-oil. The report said the Israelis recently targeted a ship anchored off Lebanon using a Limpet mine, a type of magnetic explosive that attaches to a ship’s hull.

Iran had been keeping these attacks quiet, but after the Journal report came out, an Iranian shipping company announced one of its vessels was damaged in an attack in the Mediterranean, and Iranian officials publicly blamed Israel.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.