Oil tanker owned by Israeli billionaire hit by bomb-carrying drone off Oman - The Times of Israel

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An lipid tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone disconnected the seashore of Oman amid heightened tensions with Iran, officials said Wednesday.

The onslaught connected the Liberian-flagged lipid tanker Pacific Zircon happened Tuesday nighttime disconnected the seashore of Oman, a Middle East-based defence authoritative told the Associated Press. The officials spoke connected information of anonymity arsenic they did not person authorization to sermon the onslaught publicly.

While nary 1 instantly claimed work for the attack, suspicion instantly fell connected Iran.

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the caput of the US Central Command told the Wall Street Journal that Iran was down the attack.

“This unmanned aerial conveyance onslaught against a civilian vas successful this captious maritime strait demonstrates, erstwhile again, the destabilizing quality of Iranian malign enactment successful the region,” Gen. Kurilla said.

An Israeli official, who spoke to the AP connected information of anonymity to sermon unpublicized details of the attack, said that it appeared Iran carried retired the onslaught with a Shahed-136 exploding drone. Iran has supplied those drones to Russia, which has been utilizing them to people infrastructure and civilian targets successful Ukraine.

“It is an Iranian attack, determination is simply a statement connected this successful the Israeli quality and defence community,” the authoritative said.

Pictures of the Pacific Zircon: pic.twitter.com/pZF4Gziq1g

— Faytuks News Δ (@Faytuks) November 16, 2022

Pacific Zircon is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is simply a institution yet owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.

In a statement, Eastern Pacific Shipping said the Pacific Zircon, carrying state oil, had been “hit by a projectile” immoderate 150 miles (240 kilometers) disconnected the seashore of Oman.

“We are successful connection with the vas and determination are nary reports of injuries oregon pollution. All unit are harmless and accounted for,” the institution said. “There is immoderate insignificant harm to the vessel’s hull but nary spillage of cargo oregon h2o ingress.”

Tehran and Israel person been engaged successful a yearslong shadiness warfare successful the wider Middle East, with immoderate drone attacks targeting Israeli-associated vessels traveling astir the region.

The US besides blamed Iran for a bid of attacks occurring disconnected the seashore of the United Arab Emirates successful 2019. Tehran past had begun escalating its atomic programme pursuing the United States’ unilateral withdrawal from its atomic woody with satellite powers.

Iran’s authorities did not admit the onslaught connected the Pacific Zircon. Iran’s ngo to the United Nations did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Oil prices roseate somewhat arsenic quality of the onslaught spread, with benchmark Brent crude trading supra $94 a barrel.

It wasn’t instantly wide wherever the vas was Wednesday. Satellite-tracking information from precocious Tuesday provided by MarineTraffic.com enactment the vas heavy successful the Arabian Sea aft leaving the Omani larboard of Sohar.

Since the illness of Iran’s atomic deal, nonproliferation experts warn the Islamic Republic present has capable enriched uranium to marque astatine slightest 1 atomic limb if it chose, though Tehran insists its programme is peaceful.

Iran besides has been lashing retired astatine its perceived enemies overseas amid monthslong nationwide protests present challenging its theocracy.

Torbjorn Soltvedt, an expert astatine the hazard quality institution Verisk Maplecroft, said the onslaught “does not travel arsenic a surprise.”

“The hazard of attacks against shipping and vigor infrastructure successful the wider portion is rising chiefly owed to the deficiency of advancement successful US-Iranian atomic diplomacy and the determination by Washington to use further sanctions unit connected Iran,” helium said. “Since 2019, Iran has consistently responded to caller US sanctions with covert subject enactment successful the region.”

“There is not conscionable an expanding hazard of disruptive attacks against vigor infrastructure successful the region, but besides a increasing hazard of a wider subject confrontation with much superior consequences for satellite vigor markets,” helium added.

The lipid tanker onslaught besides comes conscionable days up of the FIFA World Cup successful Qatar. While Doha maintains bully relations with Tehran, with whom it shares a monolithic earthy offshore earthy state field, Israelis volition beryllium attending the shot tournament. Iran’s nationalist squad besides volition look Britain and the US successful first-round matches, 2 countries it accuses of fomenting the unrest successful Iran.