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Oil tanker – archive
The site, “The Drive,” which deals with defense and military affairs, said Iran or the Houthis may be behind the attack on the Maltese tanker in the Saudi port.
On Wednesday, a Maltese tanker belonging to a Greek company was damaged by a mine explosion in a Saudi port.
The report indicated that the explosion occurred due to a marine mine, which was able to penetrate the outer hull of the ship above the surface of the water.
The mines, known as “Limpet mines,” were used prior to that in attacks on an oil tanker last year in the Gulf and Sea of Oman region by Iran and its representatives in the region.
Iran also used this mine, which it is manufacturing, in the Iran-Iraq war to disrupt the transportation of oil through the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
The “Drive” report indicated that the Houthis were able to use locally manufactured sea mines, as well as anti-ship cruise missiles and suicide boats in previous attacks on warships and commercial ships in the Red Sea.
In 2018, the leader of the Houthis at the time, Saleh Al-Samad, warned that they would cut off the Red Sea and international shipping, as part of their options to confront the Saudi coalition leading the war in Yemen against the Houthis.
The Saudi coalition had issued a prior statement for the attack on Tuesday, announcing the removal of five Iranian-made mines in the southern Red Sea, accusing the Houthis of being behind them.
The “Limpet mines” were clearly visible in Iranian attacks on tankers in the Oman Sea in 2019, and the United States accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guard of having them.
