Iran has confiscated two Greek tanker ships in helicopter attacks in the Gulf amid a dramatic rise in tension and violent incidents in the region.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces landed on tankers, one of which was named the Prudent Warrior, in helicopters in what appeared to be retaliation for the role of the Greek government in aiding the United States in confiscation of an Iranian oil tanker in the Mediterranean in a sanctions enforcement action earlier in the week.
With stalled talks between the great powers and Iran over the reactivation of the 2015 nuclear deal, there are growing indications that Tehran and its enemies are willing to use force to advance their interests.
The Iranian defense ministry reported an “accident” at its high-security complex Parchin on Wednesday, which killed one engineer and injured another. The New York Times reported on Friday that it was a quadcopter suicide drone attack, which was in line with a pattern of Israeli operations against Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure. The report said the drone attack was aimed at a facility where Iran is developing its own drone technology.
According to the Times, Israel also reported in the United States that it was behind the assassination of an IRGC colonel, Sayyad Khodai, who was shot by gunmen as he got out of his car in front of his house in Tehran. Sunday. An unnamed intelligence officer was quoted as saying that Israel intended the assassination to serve as a warning to Tehran to stop targeting Israeli citizens abroad.
On Thursday, IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami said there would be a response to the assassination. “Our enemies should wait,” he said.
“Our reactions will be harsh and we will certainly make the enemy regret his action,” Salami told Press TV.
If confirmed, the attack on Parchin would mark a sharp rise in the covert drone war between Iran and Israel. In February, it is reported that Israel sent six quadcopter drones to hit an Iranian military drone manufacturing facility near the town of Kermanshah.
In retaliation, Iran launched a missile attack on buildings inside Iraq that it believed were being used by Israeli intelligence to launch the attack on Kermanshah.
The confiscation of Greek tankers in the Gulf was the first such action in several months in the Gulf. Greece’s foreign minister has complained to the Iranian ambassador in Athens about the “violent seizure of two Greek-flagged ships” in the Persian Gulf.
“These acts are effectively equivalent to acts of piracy,” said a statement from the ministry, which called for the immediate return of the ships and their crews.