Tensions and incidents at sea follow one another, against the backdrop of Israel's war against the Palestinian movement Hamas in Gaza. A chemical tanker was hit by an “attack drone fired from Iran” off the coast of India on Saturday, December 23, the US Department of Defense said. The attack, which occurred at 10 a.m. local time (7 a.m. in Paris), caused a fire on board – which was extinguished – and caused no injuries, according to the Pentagon. No U.S. warships were near the boat at the time of the attack, Washington said.
The target ship, the MV Chem-Pluto, is Liberian-flagged, owned by a Japanese company and operated by a Dutch company, the US Department of Defense said. According to the maritime security company Ambrey, it is “affiliated with Israel” and operates between Saudi Arabia and India, while the American daily Wall Street Journal confirms that the Dutch company that operates the MS Chem-Pluto is “affiliated with Israel.” is Israeli shipowner Idan Ofer.”
The attack occurred in the Arabian Sea, 200 nautical miles (about 370 km) southwest of the Indian port of Veraval in Gujarat state, Ambrey and Britain's maritime security agency UKMTO said. The Indian Navy said it had sent an aircraft and a warship to support the MS Chem-Pluto.
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Fifteen Houthi attacks on merchant ships
Although responsibility for this attack could not immediately be determined, it follows a series of drone and missile attacks carried out in the Red Sea in recent weeks by Yemen's Houthi rebels backed by Iran. , against the backdrop of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In November, an Israeli cargo ship was damaged by a drone attack in the Indian Ocean, for which Washington also blamed Iran.
On Saturday, an Indian-flagged Gabonese oil tanker, the MV Saibaba, issued a distress call after it was hit in the Red Sea by a drone fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, according to US Central Command (Centcom ) announced there were no injuries. Another tanker, the Norwegian-flagged MV Blaamanen, was also attacked by a Houthi drone that narrowly missed it, Centcom added, saying this was the fourteenth and fifteenth attacks on merchant ships by Yemeni rebels in the Red Sea since October is 17.
In addition, an American destroyer patrolling the Red Sea, the USS Laboon, shot down four other Houthi attack drones that were targeting it on Saturday, according to Centcom.
Attacks on shipping since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas have prompted major shipping companies to divert their ships to the southern tip of Africa for much longer journeys, despite higher fuel costs.
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Shipping routes are threatened with closures
The Houthi rebels, who control swaths of Yemen's territory including the capital Sanaa, say they will continue their attacks until sufficient quantities of food and medicine return to the besieged Gaza Strip. They are part of the “Axis of Resistance” against Israel, which also includes other Iranian-backed groups such as Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah.
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On Saturday, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official warned that other shipping routes would become impassable if the war between Israel and Hamas continued. “As crimes continue, America and its allies must expect the emergence of new resistance forces and the closure of other waterways,” Mohammad Reza Naqdi was quoted as saying by Iran's Tasnim news agency. “They must soon expect that the Mediterranean, Gibraltar and other waterways will be closed to them,” he warned.
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The Red Sea is a “highway” that connects the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean and thus Europe with Asia. Around 20,000 ships pass through the Suez Canal every year, accounting for around 40% of world trade.
Iran's 'very damaging influence' in the region, says Cameron
The White House accused Iran of being “heavily involved in planning” the recent attacks by these Houthi rebels, providing them with “sophisticated military equipment” and “intelligence support” without which they would be “difficult.” “to discover and meet the boats”.
British Foreign Secretary and former Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday that Iran was exerting “a completely damaging influence in the region and the world.” In an interview published by the Sunday Telegraph, he called on the international community to send Iran “an extremely clear message that this escalation will not be tolerated.”
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Iran admits its political support for the Houthis, who have been at war against the Yemeni government recognized by the international community since 2014. However, Tehran denies providing military equipment to the rebels.
The United States announced on December 18 the formation of a maritime defense coalition in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, joined by around twenty countries, including France, the United Kingdom, and the United States and Canada.
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