Missile Strike on Cargo Ship Near Iraq? Iran Claims Responsibility for Attack

Tehran: Tension is already at its peak in the Middle East. On top of that, now another big piece of news has come from the Gulf. Two explosions have occurred on a cargo ship about 74 kilometres away from Iraq's Umm Qasr port. And the claims that have come forward after this have made the whole matter more complicated.

Who took responsibility for the attack?

By Iran. IRGC i.e. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that it hit the Panama-flagged container ship 'MSC Sariska V' with a cruise missile. According to Iranian media, IRGC says that this ship is American-owned. It also said that this action is revenge for the earlier attack on an Iranian ship near the coast of Oman.

What did the British agency say?

British maritime safety watchdog UKMTO said the ship was about 40 nautical miles south-east of Umm Qasr when a massive explosion occurred on its right side. However, UKMTO clearly said that it cannot yet tell with certainty in which ship the explosion took place.

There is definitely a matter of relief – all the crew members on the ship are safe, no one was hurt.

So was there really a missile attack?

The Gulf News report quoted a security source as saying that in the initial investigation so far no evidence has been found to prove that the ship was deliberately targeted. Investigations indicate that the explosion could have been caused by some mechanical or technical fault inside the ship.
That is, on one hand Iran is claiming missile attack, on the other hand the investigation is pointing towards a technical fault.

The truth has not come out yet. Only after the investigation is completed will it be known whether the blast occurred due to an attack or from inside. But Iran's claims have directly linked the incident to US-Iran tensions — and that's why the world's eyes are now on the investigation.