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Israel is targeting tankers carrying Iranian oil with attacks, according to a WSJ report.
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At least a dozen vessels were reportedly targeted.
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These attacks could represent a new front in the obscure Israel-Iran conflict.
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Israel used water mines and other weapons to sabotage at least a dozen tankers transporting Iranian oil to Syria, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, which cited American and regional officials.
In violation of American and international sanctions, Iran continued to trade oil with Syria. Israel is reportedly concerned that profits from these sales will help finance terrorism in the region and, as a result, has targeted oil tankers. These tankers tend to carry hundreds of millions of dollars worth of oil, according to the Journal.
A shipping professional told the Journal that Israel conducted three attacks on ships carrying Iranian oil in 2019, and a separate shipping professional said six ships used by Iran were targeted last year.
The report said Israeli agents were suspected of planting a limpet mine on an Iranian ship anchored near Lebanon in February. The ship was on its way to Syria.
There are no known cases of sunken ships as a result of these suspicious operations, but at least two have been forced to return to Iran and delivery of oil to Syria has been delayed as a result, the Journal reported.
The alleged Israeli attacks may represent a new front in the conflict between these two historic adversaries.
The Israeli government did not comment on the reported operations and the military declined to comment when contacted by the Journal. The Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, made no comment when contacted by Insider. The Iranian Mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Trump administration has tacitly supported Israeli operations, according to the report, and the U.S. does not appear to be doing anything to prevent such attacks.
Iran and Israel, longtime opponents, have made a series of accusations against each other in recent months.
Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel in early March accused Iran of deliberately orchestrating a massive oil spill near its coast in early February, describing it as an act of environmental terrorism.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also recently claimed that Iran attacked an Israeli-owned cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman. Iran rejected the accusation.
In November 2020, Iran accused Israel of orchestrating the murder of one of its top nuclear scientists.
The U.S. in 2019 accused Iran of attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, when tensions between Washington and Tehran reached historic levels under then President Donald Trump.
The contentious dynamics between the US and Iran have not dissipated under President Joe Biden until now. Biden ordered air strikes against Iran-backed militias in Syria in late February. The attacks were in retaliation for a rocket attack in Irbil, Iraq, earlier this month, which killed a foreign contractor and injured several Americans. Biden said the attacks were planned to send a message to Iran to “be careful”.
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