Tehran | An “Iranian commercial vessel”, the Saviz, was “slightly damaged in the Red Sea” on Tuesday by “an explosion whose origin is under investigation,” Iranian foreign affairs spokesman said on Wednesday, Saïd Khatibzadeh, in a press release.
The explosion occurred “near the coast of Djibouti on Tuesday April 6 at around 6 am local time”, adds Mr. Khatibzadeh.
“The accident did not cause any victims, and technical investigations are underway to determine the circumstances and the origin, and our country will take all the necessary measures through the international authorities in this regard”, added the spokesperson.
Mr. Khatibzadeh also said that Iran had previously announced that, “in coordination with the International Maritime Organization”, a UN agency, the Saviz was a “civilian ship (deployed) in the Red Sea region. and the Gulf of Aden to ensure the safety ”of shipping lanes in this area.
“This ship was concretely used as a logistics station – technical and logistical support – of Iran in the Red Sea”, he added.
Earlier, the Iranian agency Tasnim had reported that the Saviz was a vessel used by the Iranian armed forces and that it had been damaged by “magnetic mines”.
The New York Times, for its part, presented the facts as the result of an Israeli attack in retaliation for recent Iranian attacks on Israeli ships.