On the morning of Thursday, March 25, 2021, the Zionist media claimed that Lori, an Israeli-owned container ship attacked by a missile in the Arabian Sea. The ship which was bound for India from Tanzania had been allegedly targeted by Iranians.

The Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli daily newspaper, reported that the terrorist attacks against Iranian oil tankers carried out by Israeli saboteurs during the past few months were somehow tolerated by the Iranian government, but now it seems that Tehran has come to the conclusion that Israel must be immediately deterred. A long war of the waters has begun between Israel and Iran. The Israeli newspaper added that these attacks will continue, and severe economic damage will be inflicted on Israel as maritime shipping and insurance companies will probably desist from operating while hoisting the Israeli flag.

Last February, the MV Helios Ray, a vehicle carrier, was travelling from Saudi Arabia to Singapore when a mysterious explosion reportedly ripped holes in both sides of it. Immediately, Tel Aviv pointed the finger of blame at Tehran. But the Iranian government vehemently rejected the Zionist regime’s accusations. “We must continue to investigate regarding the recent attacks, but Iran is definitely trying to damage Israel’s economic infrastructure,” the Zionist Defense Minister Benny Gantz was quoted by the Israeli media as saying.

Gantz added that the geographical proximity of the site of the attacks on Israeli ship to the Iranian territories reinforces his suspicions against Tehran.

Two weeks earlier, Shahr-e Kord, an Iranian commercial vessel travelling to Europe was hit by an explosive device in the Mediterranean Sea, damaging part of its hull. For their part, Iranian officials have blamed Israel for the attack.

Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that since late 2019Israel had targeted at least 12 Iranian ships, mostly carrying petroleum to Syria. The Zionist regime neither confirms nor denies these reports. Though, when two attacks occurred against the Israeli vessels, Tel Aviv, with no substantial evidence, accused Iran of committing the attacks, saying that the Iranians were seeking revenge for the earlier attacks on their tankers.

What is certain is that the growing strength of Iran has created a certain set of common interests between the Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic of Iran. After Biden came to power, he did not openly support Tel Aviv and Riyadh bellicose approaches, so Israel and Saudi Arabia sought to create a fake anti-Iranian atmosphere within the international community by blaming Iran for the attacks against the Israeli vessels. It is not unlikely at all that the attack on the Lori was the work of the Saudis, ordered by their Israeli friends, in order to tarnish Iran’s impeccable international reputation.

Another scenario that should not be overlooked is that Iran’s regional allies in Yemen have been equipped with advanced naval and ballistic weapons. Several vital locations in Saudi Arabia, including oil refineries, have been repeatedly pounded the long-range missiles fired by the Yemeni resistance.

Even if it is proven that it was the Iranian-made missiles, fired by the Yemeni resistance, which hit the Israeli commercial ship, it does not constitute a rational reason for directly blaming Tehran.