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Two ships sailing in the Indian Ocean came under attack on the evening of January 4, according to a report by the Al Mayadeen TV.
The Beirut-based news channel, which is close to the Iran-led Axis of Resistance, didn’t identify the ships or provide any further details on the attacks.
If confirmed, the attacks would be the third and fourth to target vessels in the Indian Ocean since the start of the Israeli war on the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
In November, an Israeli-owned cargo ship was targeted in a suspected drone attack by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Indian Ocean, according to United States officials. A second Israel-affiliated vessel, a chemical products tanker, was attacked by a drone in December. Back then, the Pentagon alleged that the drone was launched from Iran.
Many other ships were targeted in the Red Sea after the outbreak of the war in Gaza with the Iranian-backed Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen claiming responsibility.
Recent attacks in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea hindered shipping to Israel. The key port of Eilat is reportedly very much out of work.
The two attacks reported by Al Mayadeen may have been carried out by Iran in response to the Israeli assassination of Brigadier General Razi Mousavi of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force in Syria on December 25. In this case, the targeted ships were likely sailing towards Israel or owned by an Israeli company.
