An Iranian military vessel stationed in the Red Sea was damaged on Tuesday by an apparent Israeli mine attack in an increase in the shadow that the two opponents have faced in recent years.
The damage to the vessel, which the Iranian media identified as the Saviz, came when progress was reported on the first day of talks to revive US participation in the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major world powers. Israel, which considers Iran its strongest enemy, is strongly opposed to the restoration of the agreement, which was abandoned by the Trump administration three years ago.
Several Iranian newspapers reported images of flames and smoke blowing from a wrecked vessel in the Red Sea, but the full extent of the damage or any casualties was unclear.
The Saviz, though technically classified as a cargo ship, was the first vessel to be used for military use, known to have been attacked in the Israeli-Iranian skirmishes.
According to a social media report by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the vessel has been deployed in the Red Sea for some time to combat pirates. The news agency Tasnim, the media of the Revolutionary Guards, said the Saviz was damaged by a mine attached to the vessel.
There was no official Iranian confirmation of the attack as of Tuesday night, but several Telegram social media channels operated by members of the Revolutionary Guards blamed Israel for the blast.
Israeli officials did not comment on Tuesday night, and as a matter of policy, they rarely confirm or deny responsibility for actions against Iran. But a U.S. official said the Israelis had notified the United States that its forces had hit the vessel around 7:30 a.m. local time.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share private intelligence communications, said the Israelis called the attack retaliation for earlier Iranian attacks on Israeli vessels, and that the Saviz was damaged below the waterline. The vessel’s exact location in the Red Sea was not immediately clear.
The skirmishes have been going on for two years, but previously had a different kind of target. Since 2019, Israel has been attacking commercial ships carrying Iranian oil and weapons through the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea, a new maritime front in a regional shadow war previously played out by land and air.
The U.S. official said it was possible the attack was delayed to allow the Dwight D. Eisenhower, a U.S. aircraft carrier in the area, to place a distance between himself and the Saviz. The Eisenhower was about 200 kilometers away when the Saviz was hit, the official said.
The U.S. Navy institute published a report in October 2020 claiming that the Saviz was a secret military ship operated by the Revolutionary Guards. According to the report, uniformed men were on board and a type of boat used by the Revolutionary Guards, with a hull similar to a Boston Whaler, was on the ship’s deck.
Iran has carried out its own secret attacks. The last one was reported on March 25 when an Israeli container ship, the Lori, was hit by an Iranian missile in the Arabian Sea, an Israeli official said. No injuries or significant damage were reported.
The Israeli campaign is part of Israel’s effort to curb Iran’s military influence in the Middle East and thwart Iran’s efforts to circumvent US sanctions against its oil industry.