Tehran- The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRIS) Group says one of its cargo ships has been damaged after it was targeted by a terrorist attack en route to Europe in the Mediterranean Sea earlier this week.
Ali Ghiasi, the IRISL Group’s spokesman, told Nour News on Friday that an explosion object had hit the container ship — identified as Shahr-e Kord — as it was traveling in the high seas on Wednesday.
The official said the vessel’s hull sustained slight damage, but those aboard were unharmed.
A small fire broke out in the aftermath of the explosion, which was quickly put out by the crew members, Ghiasi said.
The ship, he added, “will continue on its route after damage assessments and repair.”
Such acts of terror are a clear example of naval piracy and runs counter to the international law on the safety of commercial vessels, the official said, pledging that the country will pursue the case through relevant international institutions to identify the perpetrators.
Late last month, an Israeli-owned cargo ship said it had come under attack while it was in the Sea of Oman, claiming that it suffered holes in both sides of its hull.
The regime’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to blame Iran for the alleged incident, an accusation Tehran categorically rejected.
Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi said in a letter to the UN Security Council that the incident “has all the characteristics of a complicated false flag operation by actors in order to pursue their malign policies and to advance their illegitimate objectives.”
On Thursday, a report by The Wall Street Journal that claimed the Israeli regime had been involved in a clandestine campaign of attacks on Iranian ships carrying oil and arms to Syria since 2019.
The Israeli attacks started in late 2019 and targeted both Iranian vessels, and other ships with Iranian cargo, the report claimed, citing “US and regional officials.”
Iranian officials have not commented on the claims so far.
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