Iran has highlighted Israel ‘s vulnerability to the transport of goods in the Persian Gulf, sending a message that Israeli ships will be unprotected when they travel in that international water body.
The MV Helios Ray, an Israeli cargo ship, was hit by missiles late last week causing two gaping holes in its hull above water level.
If the explosions had been caused by a torpedo, a miner or an explosion on board, the damage to the ship would have been quite different.
It appears, therefore, that the vessel did not suffer a random operation or a false identity. Instead it appears to have been specifically targeted in an attack that involved damage but not to sink the ship.
Whoever fired missiles at a cargo ship could launch several missiles that would do much more damage. But that would be seen as an act of war by the United States and all other countries responsible for safe travel in Gulf waters.
The Helios Ray is sailing under the Bahaman flag, is not registered in Israel and does not have an Israeli crew.
Unlike Israeli ships flying the Israeli flag, the cargo ship was not protected by the country’s security services.
Iran’s efforts to hit vulnerable Israeli targets on the high seas are in short supply and have intensified since the assassination of Islamic Republic’s chief nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November last year.
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The scene of the assassination of Iran’s chief nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Nov. 2020
(Photo: Reuters)
According to a report in the Israeli media two months ago, an Iranian stowaway was captured on a Haifa-based Zim submarine sailing from Izmir in Turkey to Greece and then on to Italy.
The man, who was delivered to Italian law enforcement authorities, said he was a fugitive fleeing his country but raised the way he boarded the ship in Turkey and the equipment personal suspicion that he was not going to be truthful.
Since that incident, Israeli ships have increased their security.
The target ship last week belongs to a company owned by Israeli businessman Rami Unger. This fact is displayed on marine websites along with other details about the ship, which always uses the same route when making its way to the Far East.
The ship left the southern port of Israel in Eilat in early February, carrying goods for Saudi Arabia and Dubai, and appears to have been inspected under then.
He was attacked when he entered the Gulf of Oman, an advantageous place for Iran’s navy, to send a message to Jerusalem that Israeli interests in the region could be threatened.
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Iranian Revolutionary Guards perform naval exercise in Persian Gulf, July 2020
(Photo: AFP)
From the sept With the signing of 2020 of the Abraham Accords to normalize Israel’s relations with the UAE and Bahrain, there has been a significant increase in maritime traffic in the Gulf.
Focusing on Israeli vessels in the region raises insurance costs, makes travel there unbelievable, and damages Israel’s progressive economic ties with the Gulf countries.
With no response to the incident, Iran will continue to focus on Israeli ships.
So Israel needs to get a price for the attack and anyone else like it.