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To date, Iraqi experts have been unable to deal with the marine mine, which was discovered Thursday under a ship to transport oil from Iraqi ports, in an accident that is the first of its kind in the country in decades, and all accusing fingers are pointing at Iran, according to experts.
The mine was discovered by accident while sailors involved in the transportation of fuel oil from an Iraqi tanker in the Gulf to the “MT Pula”, a Liberian-flagged oil tanker owned by a US shipping company.
The accident occurred near the Iraqi port of Khor Al-Zubair, one of the most important Iraqi ports related to the export of oil to countries in the world, according to the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority, an organization affiliated with the British Royal Navy.
However, Security Media Cell in Iraq said in a statement on Friday that the discovery of the mine took place in the waiting area for ships in international waters, 28 nautical miles from Iraqi ports.
Exactly at four in the afternoon on Thursday, January 31, 2020, a foreign body was observed attached to one of the vessels in the waiting area for ships in international waters, 28 nautical miles from our oil ports in front of the Iraqi ports. … pic.twitter.com/JKsxjKKMIZ
– Security Media Cell (@SecMedCell) January 1, 2021
The only culprit
Security experts believe that all indicators and data on the ground confirm that the incident was deliberate and was carried out by elements with experience in the field of the escalation of the war against naval mines recently in the region, behind the which is Iran.
During 2019, there were a series of similar mine strikes against tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran was accused of being behind.
And recently, the Saudi shores witnessed similar attacks on ships and tankers in the Red Sea, with Riyadh saying the Iranian-backed Houthis were behind them.
The port is the goal
Western defense experts have linked the mine discovered on the oil tanker off the Iraqi coast to mines manufactured by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and used by the Houthis.
Happy New Year. The model and location of the Lapa mine appear to coincide strongly with the IRGC (Iran) MO. The same mine is also used by the Houthis. https://t.co/xbQmFC9JFv
– Hi Sutton (@CovertShores) December 31, 2020
Iraqi journalists published images of the newly discovered mine and similar ones previously published by Iranian media of an Iran-made mine, showing a complete match between the two mines.
A marine mine was found attached to the tanker’s hull while it was in the ship’s holding area at the port entrance # خور_عبدالله In the province #Basra South #IraqThe mine was targeting the port of Basra and not the tanker itself, which means that it is completely targeting shipping, especially oil transportation. The evidence indicates that it is Iranian-made! pic.twitter.com/LQEDNy7oif
Saif Salah Al-Hiti (@saifsalahalhety) January 1, 2021
The first image of the official Iranian military website celebrates the Iranian naval mining industry targeting tankers and ships. The second photo of a similar mine was discovered today in the port on tankers, and Iraqi security forces are working to neutralize it. pic.twitter.com/17c4ppW2uI
– بهلول🤔 (@ FSHh5p) January 1, 2021
“It is clear that the objective was not to blow up the ship off the coast of Iraq, but to explode inside the Iraqi port to cause as much damage as possible to the Iraqi oil industry,” the security expert stressed in the days of the flood.
The flood added, in an interview with Al-Hurra, that “such an act would disrupt the export of Iraqi oil from the ports of Basra for more than a year.”
The incident comes amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States in the final days of the administration of US President Donald Trump.
A spokeswoman for the commander of the United States Navy said that the Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which patrols the Middle East, is monitoring the incident.
Conflict with militias
The site of the tankers in Thursday’s incident was located off the coasts of Iraq and Iran, near the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Shatt al-Arab.
Iran is closely allied with Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, while also arming and assisting pro-Iranian militias in the country.
And recently, disputes have escalated between the Iraqi government and Iran-affiliated parties over the vital Al-Faw port project, which Iraq has been trying to establish for several years.
The dispute revolves around the project’s executing agency, as Baghdad has contracted with the South Korean company Daewoo, while forces loyal to Tehran try to grant it to Chinese companies.
On Thursday, the leader of the “Asaib Ahl al-Haq” militia led by Qais Khazali described the agreement signed by the Iraqi government with Daewoo as a “major crime” and threatened to work “with all strength” to stop it.
– Qais Khazali (@Qais_alkhazali) December 31, 2020
Security expert Ahmed Al-Sharifi says: “The incident at the mine is a clear message about the port and the ongoing conflict over it.”
Al-Sharifi added to Al-Hurra that there is a bigger message that some forces are trying to convey to the Iraqi government that “Iraqi oil is under threat.”
Al-Sharifi is likely to witness a dangerous escalation in the coming days, “which would constitute a serious challenge to the Iraqi government. Either you submit to pressure and blackmail until there is calm, or you reject all that and prepare to the confrontation, and perhaps there will be new attacks on the ports, and this time it will be more dangerous. “
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