The American New York Times said that Israel had opened a new front in the sea in the regional shadow war against Iran, which it was waging in the past by air and land.
The newspaper stated that Israel has been attacking Iranian ships carrying oil and weapons across the Mediterranean and Red Seas since 2019, and Israeli commando forces have attacked at least 10 ships carrying Iranian cargo, according to a former American and Israeli officials, while an official in the Iranian Oil Ministry considers the real number. More than 20 ships.
Tel Aviv, through the campaign targeting Iranian ships, which was confirmed by American, Israeli and Iranian officials, is seeking to limit Tehran's military influence in the Middle East and thwart its efforts to circumvent sanctions imposed by Washington on its oil exports, according to the newspaper's report.
The New York Times reported that Iran appears to be responding to this targeting with secret attacks without claiming responsibility for them.
Perhaps the most recent was last Thursday, when a ship owned by an Israeli company was hit by a missile in the Arabian Sea, which Israeli media sources said was Iranian.
An Iranian cargo ship was attacked in the Mediterranean earlier this month, causing minor damage while it was bound for Europe.
The Iranian Maritime Company said at the time that the ship "Shahrkord" was slightly damaged by an explosive charge that caused a small fire, but no one was injured on board and that it would take legal action to identify the perpetrators, describing the incident as terrorism and maritime piracy.
Dangerous escalation
The newspaper notes that the expansion of the conflict, which in the past was limited to limited reactions, threatens an escalation with dire consequences, and makes the efforts of US President Joe Biden - to persuade Iran to re-impose restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief - more complicated.
Commenting on the attack on the Israeli ship "MV Helios Ray" in the Sea of Oman while it was on its way to Singapore last month, Qais Qureshi, a political analyst and former advisor to the Iranian Foreign Ministry for Middle East Affairs, said, "When you attack us here, we will attack you." There. Iran and Israel are taking their secret war to open waters. "
The American newspaper's report quoted Ali Fayez, director of the Iran program at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based research organization, as saying that what is going on is a full-fledged Cold War and may turn into a hot war by one mistake.
"We are still in a spiral of escalation that may get out of control," he added.