Israel accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on Monday of turning industrial ships into platforms for launching missiles, drones and commandos, saying the target was to unfold Tehran’s clandestine naval clout effectively past the Gulf.
The allegation by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant got here as tensions between the regional foes surge afresh over Iran’s nuclear drive and assist for Palestinian and Lebanese militias.
Showing pictures of six purportedly repurposed Iranian vessels, 5 of them named, Gallant instructed the Herzliya Conference safety discussion board that these have been “floating terror bases” and that one had lately sailed towards the Gulf of Aden.
“This follows directly on the maritime terrorism Iran has been imposing on the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. It is working to expand its activity to the Indian Ocean, too, and later to the Red Sea and to the Mediterranean Sea as well,” Gallant stated.
There was no rapid response from Iran.
The final two years have seen Iran and Israel commerce blame over a collection of unclaimed assaults on their ships within the Gulf.
(Reuters – Writing by Dan Williams; enhancing by Mark Heinrich)
