The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has accused Israel’s archenemy Iran of assaulting an Israeli-affiliated oil ship earlier this month. Netanyahu remarked on Sunday at the beginning of his weekly cabinet meeting, “On the Iranian front, our efforts are endless for the simple reason that Iran’s actions of aggression are unceasing. The Iranian government “again last week targeted an oil ship in the Gulf [region] and struck at the international freedom of navigation,” he claimed.
The Campo Square, a product tanker flying the flag of Liberia, was “struck by an airborne item while in the Arabian Sea, approximately 300 nautical miles [555 kilometers] off the shores of India and Oman” on February 10. This is according to Eletson, the Greek firm in charge of the vessel. The ship and its crew are all OK, and they’re making good progress along the route that was originally plotted out. The ship has suffered some minor damage. A representative for Eletson said that the Liberian firm that owns Campos Square was “connected” to Zodiac Maritime, the British maritime company founded and headed by an Israeli, Eyal Ofer. Iran has said nothing publicly about the incident.
Taking down Iranian infrastructure
For years, Iran and Israel have been in a covert conflict, with Tehran accusing Israel of plotting a series of strikes and killings meant to derail Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran’s nuclear activities and its supply of armaments, particularly long-range “suicide drones,” for Russia’s conflict in Ukraine have also been sources of tension between Iran and the West. Iran’s central province of Isfahan was the target of a suspected Israeli drone strike in January, according to Tehran. This past November, a ship was attacked by a drone off the coast of Oman, and both Israel and the United States have pointed the finger at Iran. Eyal’s older brother, Idan Ofer, controlled the corporation that ran the ship.
In July 2021, a Zodiac Maritime-operated vessel was attacked by a drone off the coast of Oman, resulting in the deaths of two crew members. Israel has long made it clear that it will strike Iranian sites if diplomatic efforts fail to halt Tehran’s nuclear or missile programs, although the country seldom addresses particular events. Since late September, talks between Iran and global powers to resuscitate a nuclear deal from 2015 have stagnated. In exchange for a relaxation of sanctions, Tehran promised to curtail nuclear activities under the accord, but the United States pulled out in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump.
