An Israeli-owned ship reportedly came under missile fire on Tuesday near the United Arab Emirates, in the third attack of its kind in months.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strike, but officials in Jerusalem believe Iran is responsible, according to Hebrew media reports.
The Lebanese Al Mayadeen news outlet, which is affiliated with the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, said the ship was targeted near Fujairah on the coast of the Gulf of Oman.
Channel 12 said the missile strike caused a small amount of damage to the ship, but no injuries. The ship was en route to the UAE from Kuwait, according to the network.
The reported strike came as Iran threatened to avenge an attack on its Natanz nuclear site that it blamed on Israel.
Tehran and Jerusalem are engaged in a maritime shadow war, with both sides blaming the other for explosions on vessels, marking a new front in the conflict that was previously carried out on land, by air, and with alleged espionage and cyberattacks.
The MV Saviz, an Iranian cargo ship said to serve as a floating base for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces off the coast of Yemen, was struck by an explosion last Tuesday, likely from a limpet mine.
In recent months, at least two Israeli-owned cargo ships have been damaged in alleged Iranian attacks, one in the Gulf of Oman and the other as it was sailing to India.
Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility was hit by a suspected attack on Sunday. Israel is widely believed to have carried out the assault that damaged centrifuges, though it has not claimed it.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tuesday that if Iran determines the Jewish state was behind the strike on Natanz, “then Israel will get its response and will see what a stupid thing it has done.
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