Iran denies attack on tanker of Israeli-Dutch company: ‘Unfounded’ | Abroad

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iran is responding for the first time to reports about the drone attack on the Chem Pluto ship. The tanker was en route from Saudi Arabia to India with oil when it hit the high seas hit by a drone. A fire broke out on the ship for a short time, but no one was injured. It is now on its way to Mumbai.

The US Department of Defense said on Sunday that the drone was launched from Iran. It is the first time since the war between Israel and Hamas flared up that the United States has accused Iran of direct involvement in drone attacks on international ships. In addition, the Chem Pluto sailed far from the Red Sea, where commercial ships are repeatedly attacked by pro-Palestinian Houthi rebels in Yemen. “The American accusation is unfounded,” said the Foreign Office spokesman in Tehran.

The Chem Pluto is managed and operated by Ace Tankers, a company that has a fleet of approximately 50 chemical transport vessels. The company is located on the Zuidas in Amsterdam and is led by an Israeli top executive. Ace Tankers is part of Ace Quantum Chemical Tankers, the transport company of the wealthy Israeli shipping magnate Idan Ofer. Because of that link with Israel, the Chem Pluto would have been the target of the drone attack.

So far, attacks on ships have been limited to the Red Sea. Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran, attack ships with an Israeli link there with drones and helicopters. At the beginning of this month, several shipping companies decided to temporarily avoid the waters between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and sail around Africa.

The Danish shipping company Maersk, one of the largest in the world, now plans to sail the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden again. The company is preparing to return the ships to that route now that the US is set to lead a multinational security operation in the area.

Iran previously denied being involved in the operations of the Houthi rebels. “The Yemeni resistance is acting on its own,” said Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s deputy foreign minister. He called the Pentagon’s accusations “false and politically driven.”