Undeclared Naval War Intensifies Between Israel, Iran

• Undeclared Naval War Intensifies Between Israel, Iran
  by https://thearabweekly.com/
  Who planted the first explosive in this conflict remains unclear. But Tehran has spared no effort to dominate the strategic waterways and try to destabilise its regional rivals.
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  LONDON — An attack this week on an Iranian cargo ship that is said to serve as a floating base for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces off the coast of Yemen has escalated a yearslong shadow war in Mideast waters. The development comes just as world powers are negotiating over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal. Despite its rhetorical defiance, Iran’s actions betray an admission of inability to engage Israel a in a direct confrontation, naval or otherwise.
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  The assault on the MV Saviz on Tuesday appears to have caused the most-extensive damage yet in this shadow war, seemingly between Iran and Israel — and one that could further escalate regional tensions. Attacks and counterattacks between the two nations could spin out of control.
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  Since at least 2019, there have been a series of mysterious attacks on vessels, typically with limpet mines attached by a special forces diver to a ship’s hull. The attacks came at a time of mounting tensions between Iran and the United States over then-President Donald Trump’s decision to unilaterally pull out of the atomic accord.
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  The US Navy blamed a series of blasts in June 2019 in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Iran. Video after one blast showed Revolutionary Guard troops removing an unexploded limpet mine from one targeted ship, something never fully explained by Tehran.
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  Who planted the first explosive in this conflict remains unclear. But Tehran has spared no effort to dominate the strategic waterways and try to destabilise its regional rivals.
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  Iranian vessels have suffered mysterious incidents at sea, with the first public case involving an Iranian oil tanker in May 2019. As time went on, Iran began acknowledging attacks on its own vessels, as recently as an explosion onboard a cargo ship in the Mediterranean Sea in March. There’s yet to be a clear accounting of all the ships struck.
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