Israel Strikes Iranian Spy Ship Stationed In Red Sea

An Iranian vessel, said to be an intelligence-gathering ship linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was reportedly attacked by Israeli forces Tuesday in the Red Sea.

The Saviz, stationed near Yemen, was allegedly hit by a limpet mine, reports semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim. “The vessel Iran Saviz has been stationed in the Red Sea for the past few years to support Iranian commandos sent on a commercial vessel (anti-piracy) escort missions,” Tasnim reported.

While there is no official response from Jerusalem on the attack yet, reports appeared in various media, citing unnamed sources, hinting at the role of Israel in the mine attack.

An American official told The New York Times that the Israelis had notified the United States that its forces struck the vessel at about 7:30 a.m. local time. The report, quoting an unnamed source, said the Israelis had called the attack retaliation for earlier Iranian strikes on Israeli vessels.

While Iranian officials declined to comment, social media channels operated by members of the Revolutionary Guards blamed Israel for the explosion. Iranian news outlets also showed the images of Saviz engulfed in flames and smoke, after the limpet mines attached to the hull of the ship exploded.

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesperson Cmdr. Jessica L. McNulty told The Hill that the U.S. was “aware of media reporting of an incident involving the Saviz in the Red Sea.”

“We can confirm that no U.S. forces were involved in the incident. We have no additional information to provide,” McNulty said.

The attack on the Saviz is the latest in the shadow war carried out by the arch-rivals since 2019. While Israel has attacked commercial ships carrying Iranian oil and weapons through the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea, Iran was accused of striking an Israeli-owned container ship in the Arabian Sea on March 25.

Earlier, an Iranian investigator had alleged that Israel was likely the reason behind the explosion that caused a small fire on an Iranian container ship in the Mediterranean. On Feb. 26, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran for an explosion on board an Israeli-owned vehicle-carrier ship in the Gulf of Oman.

The attack comes as Iran and world powers held “constructive” talks Tuesday to form working groups to discuss the sanctions the U.S. might lift and the nuclear curbs Tehran might observe as they try to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

Netanyahu had responded to this, saying “we cannot go back to the dangerous nuclear plan, because a nuclear Iran is an existential threat and a very big threat to the security of the whole world.”

“We must act against the fanatical regime in Iran that is simply threatening to erase us from the earth. ... We will always know to defend ourselves by ourselves from those who seek to kill us,” he said.