Attack on Iranian oil tanker off Syrian coast leaves at least 3 dead

Tensions between Iran and Israel, two bitter enemies, continue to escalate. The Vienna talks that have taken place in recent weeks have further strained relations between the two countries. Israel has been totally opposed to the United States returning to the nuclear deal with Iran, and thus lifting economic sanctions on the Persian country.

Both Iran and the Jewish state have launched a covert war through attacks on facilities, ships, locations and a long etcetera, but without directly acknowledging responsibility for them. The latest event has taken place near the coastal city of Banias in northwestern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least three people have been killed in the attack on an Iranian oil freighter, which caused a controlled fire on the ship.

The Syrian oil ministry, through a statement on the state-run SANA news agency, explained that, "the fire broke out after the tanker was attacked by a drone coming from the direction of Lebanese territorial waters".

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP it was unclear who carried out the attack. "We don't know if it was an Israeli attack," he said. It is worth noting, however, that this incident comes two days after Israel bombed targets in neighbouring Syria in response to the firing of a missile that landed near the Dimona nuclear plant, so it is not surprising that the Jewish state is being singled out as a prime suspect.

Also, according to a report published last month citing US and Middle East officials, the Wall Street Journal said Israel had targeted at least a dozen ships bound for Syria and mostly carrying Iranian oil since late 2019.

Israel has long sought to prevent Iranian-friendly forces, as well as the Lebanese group Hezbollah, from gaining a foothold in Syria, which is why the Jewish state has launched indiscriminate attacks into Syrian territory since the start of the civil war in 2011.

Early last year, Damascus reported that divers had planted explosives in the pipelines of the Banias refinery, but the damage had not stopped operations. Similarly, in February 2020, four oil and gas sites in the central province of Homs were attacked by armed drones, causing fires and material damage.

This new attack comes after a Syrian officer was killed and three soldiers were wounded last Thursday in strikes launched by Israel after a missile was fired at a secret nuclear site in the Jewish state. The Israeli army said at the time that a surface-to-air missile had been fired from Syria into the southern Negev desert, where the Dimona nuclear reactor is located.

This exchange of attacks comes just two weeks after Iran accused Israel of "terrorism" following an explosion at the Islamic Republic's Natanz nuclear facility. Tensions between Iran and Israel continue to escalate as a return to the US-Islamic Republic nuclear deal draws ever closer. Senior Israeli officials will travel to Washington next week to convey their displeasure with the Biden administration, which they feel has sidelined them during these negotiations.