Iranian drone strikes Japanese chemical tanker off Indian coast: Seventh attack since 2021

The incident occurred on Saturday, December 23, around 230 miles off the Indian coast. According to the Pentagon's report, a small fire that broke out onboard the tanker was extinguished, and no injuries were reported.

"Chem Pluto", a chemical tanker sailing under the Liberian flag, owned by Japan and operated by the Netherlands, was hit today around 10 a.m. local time (6:00 GMT / 1:00 AM Eastern Time) in the Indian Ocean, some 200 nautical miles off the Indian coast - said Gen. Patrick Ryder, Pentagon spokesman, to the Reuters agency.

The United States Department of Defense included the same information in their statement. They reported that the US military "remains in touch with the ship, which is continuing its journey to its destination in India."

The statement also noted that this was the "seventh Iranian attack on commercial shipping since 2021." According to the Indian Coast Guard, the ship has a crew of 21 members, including 20 Indian nationals and one Vietnamese.

Iran has neither confirmed nor denied any involvement in the attack, refraining from responding to US allegations. The spokesperson for the Iranian delegation at the UN did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

As reported by Reuters, "this underscores the escalating tensions in the region and new threats to shipping routes following the Hamas attack on Israel".

Iranian authorities and forces allied with them in Yemen have publicly expressed their disapproval of the Israeli government's military actions in the Gaza Strip, where thousands of Palestinians are already victims.