Maritime Attack Thought to Be Linked to Iran-Israel Feud

A Liberian-flagged cargo ship, recently owned by Israeli shipping magnate Eyal Ofer, was attacked on Saturday while sailing from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates, in an incident identical to previous Iranian strikes against Israeli vessels reported earlier this year. No casualties were incurred and the ship, CSAV Tyndall, managed to make it to the coast of Dubai after being hit by an apparent missile in the Indian Ocean. Israeli defense officials said they were checking to see if Tehran was behind the attack. Following initial reports of the strike, Ofer’s Zodiac Maritime management company issued a statement saying it had not been operating the Tyndall for some months. The Israel-Iran maritime conflict flared up in February and again in April, as three Israeli-owned cargo vessels came under missile attack in the Gulf of Oman. In response, mines struct the Islamic Republic’s Saviz, considered the navy’s mothership in the Red Sea area and a naval base for regional military operations, in an operation attributed to Israeli commando forces.