Israel – Iran Proxy Conflict: Attack on Israeli-Owned Cargo Ship Near Oman, Iranian Link Suspected

By Arie Egozi

Foreign Affairs

Tel Aviv: A ship operated by an Israeli-owned company was attacked near Oman, a British army spokesman announced this morning. The statement said the incident took place on July 29, northeast of the Omani island of Masira, and its details are now being investigated.

According to the announcement, two crew members who were on the ship were killed – a Romanian citizen and a British citizen. The ship is operated by Zodiac Maritime, which is owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.

According to the company, the ship “Mercer Street” was attacked by pirates as it made its way from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to the port of Fujairah in the UAE. It was also reported that this is a Japanese-owned ship operated by the London-based Zodiac Maritime Company. There were no goods on the ship at the time of its attack. The British Army’s announcement did not elaborate on the incident. A similar announcement was made yesterday regarding an unexplained incident in this area. No details were given regarding this incident either.

In recent months there have been reports on similar attacks on cargo ships that are owned by Israeli businessmen.

Israeli sources say that all the signs are that these attacks including the last one have been performed by Iranian units using fast boats with missiles.