Attack on another Israeli-owned ship reported near Iran

An Israeli-owned ship called the Hyperion was attacked on Tuesday in United Arab Emirates (UAE) waters according to reports.

The Lebanese Al Mayadeen news outlet said the ship came under fire near the emirate of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman. Arab media reported that the Hyperion was hit by an Iranian missile.

The vehicle-carrier is owned by the Israeli Ray Shipping company but has been sailing under a Bahaman flag for six years.

The ship was reported to have sustained light damage above its waterline. No injuries were reported, and the ship did not need to return to port for repair.

It is the second Israeli ship owned by Ray shipping that has recently suffered an attack.

The vehicle carrier MV Helios Ray was attacked at the end of February in the Gulf of Oman, with a blast that damaged the vessel and forced it ashore.

A third vessel, the Israeli-owned container ship Lori, was hit by a missile on March 25 in the Arabian Sea.

Israeli officials believe Iran was behind all of the attacks but Tehran has not claimed responsibility.

The Hyperion incident comes after an alleged Israeli attack this week on the Iranian Natanz nuclear facility and one week after the Iranian intelligence-gathering ship Saviz was damaged in an alleged Israeli attack in the Red Sea.

Israel did not take responsibility for either of these incidents, but Iranian officials blamed Israel and threatened to avenge the attacks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday that if Iran determines Israel was behind the strike on Natanz, “then Israel will get its response and will see what a stupid thing it has done”.

Israeli security agencies are reportedly bracing for a possible Iranian revenge attack and have raised security levels in embassies worldwide.

Meeting on Sunday with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “In the Middle East, there is no threat that is more serious, more dangerous, more pressing than that posed by the fanatical regime in Iran.

“Iran continues to support terrorists around the world, threatening civilians everywhere. Iran has never given up its quest for nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them.”

He reaffirmed that as prime minister of Israel he will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its “genocidal goal of eliminating Israel”.