An Israeli-owned ship has been attacked close to the UAE emirate of Fujairah, the Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese Al-Mayadeen network reported on Tuesday.
The report has identified the vessel as Hyperion Ray that sails under the Bahamas flag and belongs to Israeli businessman Rami Ungar.
The vessel has sustained minor damage.
The reported incident came shortly after Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif pointed an accusing finger at Israel for the explosion at its key nuclear site and vowed revenge for the attack
Tehran's top diplomat said that the incident was a “very bad gamble” that would strengthen the Islamic Republic's hand in talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.
Earlier on Tuesday, an Iranian official announced that Tehran will begin enriching uranium to 60% purity, higher than the program ever has before though still short of weapons grade.
Both Israel and Iran have been reported to be locked in a covert maritime standoff in recent months amid a host of attacks on Israeli- and Iranian-owned vessels.
The latest such attack took place last week when the Iranian-flagged ship "Saviz" was struck by a missile in the Red Sea off the coast of Eritrea.
Officially, Iran says the ship is used for commercial purposes but according to international media reports, it serves the Revolutionary Guards as an intelligence reconnaissance vessel and guarding oil shipments in the Red Sea.
Late last month, Channel 12 reported that Iran fired a missile at an Israeli-owned ship in the Arabian Sea.
The container ship, which was said to be on its way from Tanzania to India, was hit by a small projectile and sustained minimal damage, Channel 12 said. The ship was identified as the LORI, which is owned by Israeli businessman Udi Angel and is registered in Liberia.
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Helios Rays — a cargo ship attacked by Iran in February according to Israel
(Photo: Aurora Intel)
In February, Israel claimed Iran was behind an attack on the ship Helios Rays — also owned by Unger — off the shores of Oman.