Iranian general threatens Israel after fire on tanker off Syrian coast

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A senior official in Iran’s armed forces made veiled threats against Israel on Sunday after a fire erupted on an Iranian ship on Syria’s Banias coast that led to the death of at least three people.

“The Zionists think they can target Syrian soil constantly and carry out mischief on the seas and other places and receive no answer,” Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, told Iranian media linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Tasnim News Agency, on Sunday.

“Certainly, recent actions and future actions that will endanger their interest, will bring them to their senses,” Bagheri added during an event commemorating the life of Brigadier General Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, deputy commander of IRGC Quds Force and responsible for Iranian policies in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and the wider region. He died on April 18 of heart disease.

Israel was reportedly behind an incident aboard an Iranian fuel tanker off Syria’s Banias coast on Saturday. At least three people died, “including two members of the crew” in what was believed to be a drone attack “from the direction of Lebanese waters,” Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.

“We don't know if this was an Israeli attack,” Abdel Rahman added. The Observatory reported the fire was “unlikely to be caused by a technical failure,” but was it was uncertain whether it was a drone or a naval attack.

Syria’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources also said it believed the attack was carried by a “drone coming from the direction of Lebanese territorial waters,” reported state media SANA.

On Sunday, Tasnim quoted a Syrian military official denying the incident was an attack, saying it was the result of a safety flaw. He also denied the ship was Iranian.

“This accident occurred due to carelessness and lack of safety measures during a welding operation” while the tanker was unloading its cargo, Tasnim quoted the unnamed Syrian official saying.

With tensions high between Iran, Israel, and the United States, a series tit-for-tat attacks on land and at sea have brought the region to the verge of war.
 
Iranian-backed militias have made frequent attacks against US interests in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, including a drone attack targeting the coalition stationed at Erbil International Airport on April 14. Top Iranian official Hassan Danaeifar last week said attacks on the Americans will continue.

An Iranian ship in the Red Sea was struck by an explosion on April 6, said to be caused by limpet mines. Tehran alleged Israel was behind the attack.

The Wall Street Journal, in a report published in March citing US and Middle East officials, said Israel had targeted at least a dozen vessels mostly carrying Iranian oil bound for Syria since late 2019.

Israeli ships have also been targeted several times in recent months, blamed on Iran. The latest attack was on April 14 when an Israeli-owned cargo vessel was attacked in Gulf waters off the coast of the UAE.

In February, another Israeli-owned ship was damaged in an explosion in the Gulf of Oman. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran.

Damascus imports oil from Iran. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main ally of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) on the ground in Syria, controls most of the country’s oilfields outside of areas held by the regime. The US has said they want to keep the oil out of the hands of Iran and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In both northeast and northwest Syria, in areas under Kurdish and rebel control, there is an increased reliance on makeshift oil refineries after a decade of civil conflict. The refineries fill a need for fuel and became an income source for locals.

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