(Reuters) – A drone launched from Iran struck a chemical tanker within the Indian ocean early on Saturday, the U.S. Division of Protection stated.
“The motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker was struck at roughly 10 a.m. native time (6 a.m. GMT) at present within the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles from the coast of India, by a one-way assault drone fired from Iran,” a Pentagon spokesperson instructed Reuters.
The incident highlights escalating regional tensions and new threat to delivery lanes after the Oct. 7 Hamas assault on Israel.
The Iranian authorities, in addition to its allied militant forces in Yemen, have publicly criticized the Israeli authorities’s army operation in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinian residents have been killed within the ongoing battle, in accordance with help displays.
The Pentagon assertion stated this was the “seventh Iranian assault on industrial delivery since 2021.”
There have been no casualties on account of the assault and a quick fireplace on board the tanker was extinguished. The incident happened solely 200 nautical miles from the coast of India.
A spokesperson for the Iranian delegation on the United Nations didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
(Reporting by Christopher Bing; Enhancing by Daniel Wallis)
