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Drone Hits Israeli-Linked Tanker; Iran Frees 2 Greek Tankers

Two ships seen in the Arabian Sea. AP file photo
Two ships seen in the Arabian Sea. AP file photo
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Drone Hits Israeli-Linked Tanker; Iran Frees 2 Greek Tankers

Two ships seen in the Arabian Sea. AP file photo
Two ships seen in the Arabian Sea. AP file photo

An oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman amid heightened tensions with Iran, officials said Wednesday. Meanwhile, Greece said Iran freed two Greek oil tankers held by Tehran since May. 

The drone attack on the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon happened Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, one Mideast-based defense official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss the attack publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. 

The Pacific Zircon is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is a company ultimately owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer. 

In a statement, Eastern Pacific Shipping said the Pacific Zircon, carrying gas oil, had been “hit by a projectile” some 150 miles (240 kilometers) off the coast of Oman. 

“We are in communication with the vessel and there is no reports of injuries or pollution. All crew are safe and accounted for,” the company said. “There is some minor damage to the vessel’s hull but no spillage of cargo or water ingress.” 

An Israeli official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss unpublicized details of the attack, said that it appeared Iran carried out the attack with a Shahed-136 exploding drone. Iran has supplied those drones to Russia, which has been using them to target infrastructure and civilian targets in Ukraine. 

“It is an Iranian attack, there is a consensus on this in the Israeli intelligence and defense community,” the official said. 

Iran's government did not acknowledge the attack on the Pacific Zircon. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The strike came hours after the US Navy announced it found 70 tons of a missile fuel component hidden among bags of fertilizer aboard a ship bound to Yemen from Iran, a major seizure potentially disrupting the Iranian-backed Houthis' ballistic missile program there. 

Oil prices rose slightly as news of the attack spread, with benchmark Brent crude trading above $94 a barrel. 

Later Wednesday, Greek officials said two of Greek oil tankers — Delta Poseidon and Prudent Warrior — had been freed, along with their sailors. 

Tracking data from MarineTraffic.com showed the vessels sailing away from the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas where they had been held since May after being seized in a helicopter-borne raid by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. 

Their seizure came after Greece assisted the United States in attempting to seize oil days earlier from the Iranian-flagged tanker Lana to enforce American sanctions. 

“Today is a very pleasant day for our sailors, but also for Greece in general, since an unpleasant and particularly complex case came to an end, following systematic efforts by the Greek government,” Greek Shipping Minister Giannis Plakiotakis said in a statement. 

Iran's Foreign Ministry later acknowledged the release of the Greek tankers, saying that the ships and the Iranian vessel detained by Greece previously had all left for their destinations. 

While no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack off the coast of Oman, suspicion immediately fell on Iran. Tehran and Israel have been engaged in a yearslong shadow war in the wider Middle East, with some drone attacks targeting Israeli-associated vessels traveling around the region. 

The US also blamed Iran for a series of attacks occurring off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in 2019. Tehran at the time had begun escalating its nuclear program following the unilateral US withdraw from Iran's atomic deal with world powers. 

In 2021, a suspected Iranian drone strike hit the Israeli-associated oil tanker Mercer Street off Oman, killing two people onboard. 

It wasn't immediately clear where the vessel was Wednesday. Satellite-tracking data from late Tuesday provided by MarineTraffic.com put the vessel deep in the Arabian Sea after leaving the Omani port of Sohar. 

Since the collapse of Iran's nuclear deal, nonproliferation experts warn the country now has enough enriched uranium to make at least one nuclear weapon if it chose, though Tehran insists its program is peaceful. 

Iran also has been lashing out at its perceived enemies abroad amid monthslong nationwide protests now challenging its theocracy. 

Torbjorn Soltvedt, an analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, said the attack “does not come as a surprise.” 

“The risk of attacks against shipping and energy infrastructure in the wider region is rising mainly due to the lack of progress in US-Iranian nuclear diplomacy and the decision by the Washington to apply further sanctions pressure on Iran,” he said. “Since 2019, Iran has consistently responded to new US sanctions with covert military action in the region.” 

“There is not just an increasing risk of disruptive attacks against energy infrastructure in the region, but also a growing risk of a wider military confrontation with more serious consequences for world energy markets,” he added. 

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Tourists Trickling into Afghanistan…Taliban Eager to Welcome Them

FILE/ Women visit the Sakhi Shah-e Mardan Shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) 
FILE/ Women visit the Sakhi Shah-e Mardan Shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) 
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Tourists Trickling into Afghanistan…Taliban Eager to Welcome Them

FILE/ Women visit the Sakhi Shah-e Mardan Shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) 
FILE/ Women visit the Sakhi Shah-e Mardan Shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) 

By plane, motorbike, camper van and even on bicycles, tourists are beginning to discover Afghanistan, with solo travelers and tour groups gradually venturing into a country that until recently was wracked by war.

And the country’s Taliban government, which seized power more than three years ago but has yet to be formally recognized by any other nation, is more than happy to welcome them.

“The Afghan people are warm and welcoming and wish to host tourists from other countries and engage with them,” Deputy Minister of Tourism Qudratullah Jamal told AP in an early June interview. “Tourism brings many benefits to a country. We have considered those benefits and aim for our nation to take full advantage of them.”
Tourism is a vital, multi-billion-dollar industry for many countries.

Afghanistan’s isolation on the international stage, largely because of the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls, has left much of its 41 million people mired in poverty. As it struggles to attract foreign investment, the lucrative potential of tourism is far from lost on the government.

“We are currently earning a considerable amount of revenue from this industry, and we are hopeful it will grow even more in the future,” Jamal said, noting money spent by visitors can reach more layers of society than revenue from other industries.

“We are optimistic this sector will evolve into a large economy, bringing significant benefits. It plays an important role in strengthening our national economy,” Jamal said.

Tourist visas are quick and easy to obtain and flights from major transit hubs such as Istanbul operate several times a week. The government has even set up a training institute for men — and it is only for men — seeking jobs in the hospitality and tourism sector.

While visitor numbers are still very much a trickle rather than a flood, they are increasing. Nearly 9,000 foreign tourists visited Afghanistan last year, while nearly 3,000 people visited in the first three months of this year, Jamal said.

Four decades of near-continuous conflict kept nearly all vacationers away from this landlocked country of towering mountains, deep gorges and millennia of history.

The Taliban’s takeover from a US-backed government in August 2021 stunned the world and sent thousands of Afghans fleeing. But with the insurgency over, the bloodshed from frequent bombings and suicide attacks all but ended too.

Attacks still occur, however. An ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan remains active and gunmen killed six people, including three Spanish tourists, in a May 2024 attack in Bamiyan, one of the country’s main tourist attractions where centuries-old giant Buddhas carved into the cliffs were blown up by the Taliban in 2001.

While Western countries still advise against travel to Afghanistan, a drop in violence from the two decades of US-led military presence is indisputable, as the government is keen to point out.

“Afghanistan has gone through many years of war and hardship. Now, we want tourists to come and see the true traditions and customs of Afghans, to understand Afghan life, creativity and resilience,” Jamal said, noting there was “comprehensive security across Afghanistan.”

Critics question the ethics of foreigners visiting Afghanistan for pleasure when its government discriminates so heavily against half the country’s population.

Education beyond primary school level is banned for girls and women and few professions are open to them. Women cannot enter parks, gardens or gyms.

Beauty salons are forbidden. Authorities dictate how women dress and have demanded they cover their faces in public, a decree still flouted by many, particularly in Kabul.

Some visitors say they contemplated the ethics, but ultimately wanted to see the situation for themselves.

French-Peruvian Illary Gomez said she and her British partner, James Liddiard, debated for about a year whether to drive through Afghanistan as part of their UK-to-Japan camper van journey.

“Some things didn’t feel morally right,” she said.

But once here, they said they found a warm, hospitable and welcoming people and beautiful landscapes. They didn’t feel their presence was any form of support for the Taliban.

By traveling, “you put money in the hands of the people, not the government,” Liddiard said.

The treatment of women is particularly sensitive for government officials. Jamal declined to comment on the subject beyond saying male and female visitors were welcome.

“Those who respect our laws and traditions have already come and can continue to come,” he said.

Opening the country to foreign visitors was also a way of building bridges, Jamal said.

“It is a great way to promote interaction between the people of different countries. It helps build international relations and is also beneficial for trade,” he told the AP.