Israel Informs US It Attacked Iranian Ship in Red Sea: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An American official told The New York Times that Israel has informed the US it struck the Iranian merchant vessel Saviz in the Red Sea on Tuesday.
Iran Saviz has been cruising in the Red Sea over the past recent years for logistical support for the Iranian commandos deployed to that region for escorting trade vessels.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatizadeh told reporters that the Saviz ship was struck by a blast at around 6 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) on Tuesday, April 5, near the coast of Djibouti, and sustained minor damage.
“Fortunately, no fatalities were caused by the incident, and technical evaluations on how the incident occurred and its origins are underway,” he added.
The New York Times report said Israel informed the US that it struck Saviz at about 7:30 a.m. local time, claiming that it was in retaliation for earlier strikes on Israeli vessels.
In a similar incident last month, an Iranian cargo ship was damaged after it was targeted by a terrorist attack en route to Europe in the Mediterranean Sea.
Tehran said back then that such acts of terror are a clear example of naval piracy and run counter to international law on the safety of commercial vessels.
On February 25, an explosion struck Israeli-owned and the Bahamas-flagged ship, the MV Helios Ray, in the Sea of Oman near the strategic mouth of the Persian Gulf.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hastily accused Iran of attacking the ship. Iran categorically rejected the charge.
Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi, in a letter addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on March 5, warned of consequences of any possible miscalculated measure by Israel over the explosion.
“The incident has all the characteristic of a complicated false flag operation carried out by actors in order to pursue their malign policies and to advance their illegitimate objectives,” Takht Ravanchi wrote.
