A suspected drone attack in the Indian Ocean caused an explosion on a Liberian-flagged chemical tanker linked to Israel. This was announced by the UK Marine Trade Operations (Ukmto), saying that the ship was hit 200 nautical miles from the Indian city of Veraval. “Some structural damage was reported and water was taken on, but no injuries were reported. Vessels are advised to sail with caution and report any suspicious activity,” the statement said. The attack occurred hundreds of kilometers from the Red Sea area and the Bab al-Mandab Strait and was targeted by the Houthis, who were targeting ships linked to or for Israel in response to the war in Gaza ports were intended.
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The United States has accused Iran of being “deeply involved in Houthi rebel attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea” following reports of another attack by an Israeli-linked merchant ship. Tehran's support for the Yemeni rebel group includes both weapons and tactical intelligence, the White House said, presenting recently declassified information showing Iranian involvement in the attacks, which Tehran denies. Meanwhile, Israel believes that the drone that attacked the tanker off the coast of India came from Iran.
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The tensions in the Middle East therefore show no end. A general in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, threatened to “close the Mediterranean” in response to “crimes against the oppressed people of Gaza.” The Pasdaran commander spoke of the “emergence of new resistance forces and the closure of other waterways” to counter the US and its allies, according to the Tasnim news agency. “You should expect the closure of the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar soon,” Naqdi said, claiming that Western powers had been “trapped in Bab al Mandab and the Red Sea.”