A tanker was hit in waters near Iraq on Wednesday afternoon, with an unverified claim that the vessel is an American tanker, according to regional reports.
Iraqi media channels reported Wednesday afternoon that an Iranian drone struck the oil tanker 'New Andrews' near the port of Basra in the Persian Gulf. The attack, which occurred hundreds of kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz, marks a significant geographic expansion of recent maritime hostilities, according to the reports. The Iraqi channels claim the vessel is American-owned, though this has not been independently verified.
The reports follow initial unverified claims earlier Wednesday that a tanker had been hit in waters near Iraq, with no details on the attacker or the vessel's affiliation. By 14:01 Jerusalem time, Iraqi sources identified the tanker as the 'New Andrews' and directly attributed the strike to an Iranian drone. The development builds on a series of maritime incidents The Zioneer has tracked in recent months, including a drone strike on a U.S.-owned floating tanker at Egypt's Damietta port on July 29, and an Iranian attack on a tanker in the Omani shipping lane on August 10.
The Zioneer has previously reported on a broader pattern of cruise missile strikes, drone attacks, and projectile hits on commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea, with some attributed to Iranian forces and others remaining unattributed. U.S. naval assets have been deployed to escort shipping in the area.
Independent confirmation from U.S. or Iraqi authorities is still pending. The reported American ownership of the 'New Andrews' remains unsubstantiated. We will update the situation as further information emerges.
3 developments
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- DevelopingUS aircraft warned then struck Iranian tanker STARK I near Kharg Island, Iranian media report
- StrongReport: Iranian drone strikes oil facility in Kirkuk, northern Iraq
- StrongReport: Drone strikes airport in Iraq
Source and signal
- Open-source intake