Yemeni Forces Launch Missile at Israeli-Owned Tanker in Red Sea
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Yemeni forces said on Monday they have launched a missile towards the Liberia-flagged Israeli-owned tanker 'Scarlet Ray' near Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Yanbu.
British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Sunday that a tanker reported an explosion nearby, southwest of Yanbu.
A vessel reported "a splash in close proximity from an unknown projectile and heard a loud bang", the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, adding that the vessel's crew were all safe and it was continuing to its next voyage, Reuters reported.
In a later update, Ambrey said it assessed the vessel to be "aligned with" the targets of Yemeni forces’ profile given that it was publicly Israeli-owned.
In a statement released on Monday, the Yemeni Armed Forces said the naval units have carried out a military operation targeting the Israeli oil tanker ‘Scarlet Ray’ in the northern Red Sea using a ballistic missile.
The operation has resulted in a direct hit on the ship, the statement said, adding that the operation has been carried out in response to the Israeli regime’s genocidal crimes and starvation policies against the people of Gaza.
It also affirmed the continued ban on Israeli maritime traffic in the Red and Arabian Seas.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces affirm their continued support for the Palestinian people by preventing Israeli shipping or heading to the ports of occupied Palestine in the Red and Arabian Seas, as well as by carrying out further military operations against Israeli enemy targets in occupied Palestine,” the statement said.
“These operations will not be ceased until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted,” it added, SABA news reported.
