An Iranian newspaper closely linked to Iran’s top commander said on Sunday that the recent Israeli-owned cargo ship hit by secret explosions in the Gulf of Oman was “possibly” on an espionage mission. ”In the area, without providing any evidence to support the claim.
The hard line Kayhan every day, whose editor was named by Superintendent Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he also thought the ship was caught “in an ambush with a branch of a front axis,” he noted. on Iranian agents in the region.
The Israeli-owned cargo ship arrived at the port of Dubai for repairs on Sunday, days after the explosion that revived security concerns in Mideast waterways amid increased tensions with Iran.
The hulking MV Helios Ray was seen sitting at dry dock facilities in Dubai.
Although the crew was not damaged in the explosion the vessel held two holes on the side of its port and two on the side of the star just above the waterline, according to American defense officials.
It is unclear what caused the explosion, but the incident comes amid a sudden rising tension between the U.S. and Iran over their unresolved 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran has tried to pressure U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to grant relief from sanctions he has received under world powers abandoned by former resident Donald Trump.
The explosion on the ship on Friday marked a series of attacks on foreign oil tankers in 2019 that the U.S. Navy blamed on Iran.
Tehran denied any involvement in the suspected attacks, which took place near the Hormuz Strait, a major oil choke site.
The Helios Ray had released cars at various ports in the Gulf of Persia before making its way out of Singapore’s Middle East.
The explosion struck as the ship was sailing from the Saudi Dammam port out of the Gulf of Oman, forcing it to turn to Dubai for inspection.
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Israeli cargo ship Helios Ray can be seen after anchoring in Dubai, Feb. 28 2021
(Photo: EPA)
Iranian authorities have not commented publicly on the ship. Israeli media has run reports saying that the assessment in Israel is that Iran was behind the explosion.
Iran has also blamed Israel for a series of recent attacks, including a mysterious explosion last summer that destroyed an advanced centrifuge assembly plant at its Natanz nuclear facility and killed Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a leading Iranian scientist who founded the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons program two decades ago.
Iran’s renewed promises to avenge Fakhrizadeh’s assassination have raised warnings in Israel.