An oil tanker linked to the Israeli billionaire was hit by a drone carrying a bomb off the coast of Oman, an official told The Associated Press.
The attack occurred on Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, the Middle East-based defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the attack publicly.
British Maritime Trade Operations, a British military group that monitors shipping in the area, told The Associated Press that "we are aware of this matter and are currently investigating."
The official identified the vessel that was attacked as the Pacific Zircon, a Liberian-flagged tanker operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is ultimately owned by Israel's billionaire Owned by millionaire Idan Ofer.
Eastern Pacific Shipping said in a statement that the Pacific Zircon, which was carrying gas oil, was "hit by a projectile" about 150 miles (240 kilometers) off the coast of Oman.
"We are in contact with the vessel and there are no reports of injury or contamination and all crew members are safe and valued," Eastern Pacific Shipping said, adding that "there was some minor damage to the hull but no cargo spilled or water ingress."
Calls to the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi went unanswered, and the Israeli prime minister's office and defense ministry declined to comment.
However, while no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Iran was behind the attack, which they said used a drone similar to that used in previous The same drones supplied to Russia in Ukraine.
Iran's Nournews, which is affiliated with the country's top security agency, blamed Israel for the attack, accusing it of distracting from Sunday's World Cup soccer match in Qatar.
Tehran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long shadow war in the wider Middle East, with some drone attacks on Israeli-linked ships sailing in the region.
Timothy Hawkins, commander of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, told that the U.S.'s biggest concern is "any destabilizing maritime activity in the surrounding waters, as this is critical to global trade."
Timothy Hawkins said the next step for the Fifth Fleet will be to maintain a persistent presence in the Gulf.
"[We will] work with our regional and international partners to patrol the nearby waters and work with commercial shipping to ensure they have the information they need to continue to safely navigate these waterways," Hawkins said.
The United States blamed Iran for a series of attacks off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in 2019, and Tehran began upgrading its nuclear program after the United States unilaterally withdrew from a nuclear deal with world powers.
In 2021, a suspected Iranian drone attack on the Israel-linked oil tanker Mercer Street near Oman killed two people on board.
Iranian state media did not immediately acknowledge the attack on the Pacific Zircon, and it was unclear where the ship was headed Wednesday, with satellite tracking data provided by MarineTraffic.com late Tuesday showing the ship leaving Oman. After sailing into the depths of the Arabian Sea from the port of Sohar.
Since the collapse of the Iran nuclear deal, nonproliferation experts have warned that Tehran now has enough enriched uranium to make at least one nuclear weapon, despite Tehran's insistence that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Against the backdrop of ongoing nationwide anti-government protests since September, the Iranian government has accused hostile countries of meddling in its internal affairs.
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