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. 



UK and France Must End Dependency on US and China, Macron Warns

France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's King Charles III, Britain's Queen Camilla and Brigitte Macron stand during a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle, in Windsor west of London, on July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS
France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's King Charles III, Britain's Queen Camilla and Brigitte Macron stand during a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle, in Windsor west of London, on July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS
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UK and France Must End Dependency on US and China, Macron Warns

France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's King Charles III, Britain's Queen Camilla and Brigitte Macron stand during a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle, in Windsor west of London, on July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS
France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's King Charles III, Britain's Queen Camilla and Brigitte Macron stand during a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle, in Windsor west of London, on July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday Britain and France must work together to counter the world's many destabilizing threats and protect Europe from "excessive dependencies" on the United States and China. 

Macron, in a rare address to both houses of the British parliament, celebrated the return of closer ties between the two countries as he became the first European leader to be invited for a British state visit since Brexit. 

Having been greeted earlier by the British royal family, Macron set out to parliament where he said the two countries needed to come together to strengthen Europe, including on defense, immigration, climate, and trade. 

"The United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference," he said. 

"The only way to overcome the challenges we have, the challenges of our times, will be to go together hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder." 

Listing the geopolitical threats the countries face, Macron argued they should also be wary of the "excessive dependencies of both the US and China," saying they needed to "de-risk our economies and our societies from this dual dependency." 

But he also set out the opportunities of a closer union, saying they should make it easier for students, researchers and artists to live in each other's countries, and seek to work together on artificial intelligence and protect children online. 

The speech symbolized the improvement in relations sought by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's center-left Labor Party, as part of a broader reset of ties with European allies following the rancor over Britain's departure from the European Union. 

'ENTENTE AMICALE' 

Macron, who enjoys a strong personal relationship with King Charles, was earlier greeted by the royal family, including heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife Princess Catherine, before they travelled in horse-drawn carriages to Windsor Castle. 

Charles used his speech at the evening's opulent state banquet to christen a new era of friendly relations, upgrading the "entente cordiale" - an alliance dating from 1904 that ended centuries of military rivalries - to an "entente amicale." 

"As we dine here in this ancient place, redolent with our shared history, allow me to propose a toast to France and to our new entente. An entente not only past and present, but for the future - and no longer just cordiale, but now amicale," he said. 

The 76-year-old monarch, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, had a noticeably red right eye. A Buckingham Palace source said he had suffered a burst blood vessel that was unrelated to any other health condition.  

Britain and France marked the three-day visit with an announcement that French nuclear energy utility EDF would invest £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) in a nuclear power project in eastern England. 

The two also said France would lend Britain the Bayeux Tapestry, allowing the 11th-century masterpiece to return for the first time in more than 900 years, in exchange for Britain loaning France Anglo-Saxon and Viking treasures. 

The state visit comes 16 years after the late Queen Elizabeth hosted then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Despite tensions over post-Brexit ties and how to stop asylum seekers from crossing the Channel in small boats, Britain and France have been working closely to create a planned military force to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia. 

Starmer is hoping that will help persuade Macron to take a different approach to stopping people smuggling, with London wanting to try out an asylum seekers' returns deal. This would involve Britain deporting one asylum seeker to France in exchange for another with a legitimate case to be in Britain.  

A record number of asylum seekers have arrived in Britain on small boats in the first six months of this year. Starmer, whose party is trailing Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform UK party in the polls, is under pressure to find a solution. 

France has previously refused to sign such an agreement, saying Britain should negotiate an arrangement with all EU countries.