File photo of the Iranian ship ‘Saviz’ in the Red Sea in 2018
Tehran/Vienna/New York: The suspected Israeli attack on April 7 on an Iranian ship MV Saviz, whose prolonged presence in the Red Sea off Yemen was often condemned by its arch enemy Saudi Arabia Israel, is the fourth such incident in the region in just over a month.
The Saudi Arabia had alleged that the ship was being used as a base for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and anchored for years in the Red Sea off Yemen – where Iran-backed Houthi rebels are also engaged in a war with Saudi Arabia. However, a statement attributed to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, claimed that the ship was a commercial vessel. “Fortunately, no casualties were reported… and technical investigations are underway,” Khatibzadeh said, adding that “Our country will take all necessary measures through international authorities.”
Many experts say Iran provided arms and support to Yemen’s Houthi rebels. On March 23, 2021 though, Saudi Arabia had announced steps to help end the fighting and restart the political process in Yemen.
While Tehran did not blame Israel for the attack immediately, there were unconfirmed reports that Israel had notified the US that it carried out this attack. Iran stated that the vessel was damaged in an “explosion”.
In New York, to a question whether this was a breach of international law, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General, told journalists, “I haven’t seen those reports. We will look. We have seen… what we have seen in the past month is a number of attacks on ships that were different flags, different owners. What we do not want to see is any escalation, tit for tat. The freedom of navigation is critical all over the world but especially in this region, in the Red Sea and in the Persian Gulf.”
When pressed further to comment on wouldn’t the attack, whoever carried it out, be illegal under international law, Dujarric quipped, “I think everyone understands what their responsibilities are, and we want them to be respected.”
The attack was done just a day after envoys from Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran and Russia sat in Vienna on April 6, for a fresh effort to bring the United States back into the sinking 2015 nuclear deal they signed with Iran. The US was also reportedly due to start its own indirect talks with Iran which signalled some tangible progress to break the thaw between the two nations and to enable them to return to the accord, which restricted Iran’s nuclear program in return for relief from U.S. and international sanctions.
The UN Secretary-General’s office in New York expressed concerns over the prevailing situation in the Red Sea. “Although the circumstances around the incident remain unclear, we want to underscore the importance for the concerned parties, including countries in the region, to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from taking any escalatory actions and, in particular, to respect their obligations under international law,” Dujarric told journalists.
– global bihari bureau
