Israel is following with great interest the escalation of tension between Iran and the United States, especially in light of the presence of the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, and especially after the US army shot down an Iranian drone in the Arabian Sea ahead of the anticipated and sensitive negotiations between the two parties, according to an Israeli report.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation “Kan” stated that “for the first time since the American attack on the Fordow nuclear facility, a direct military confrontation was recorded between Iran and the United States,” considering that the downing of the Iranian drone reflects “the state of high alert among the American forces in the region.”
This situation raises questions in Israel before Friday, the date of the talks between Tehran and Washington, as Israeli sources believe that reaching an agreement with Iran may strengthen the regime’s position, while Tel Aviv sees, even tonight and perhaps more than in recent days, that the negotiations are useless and that US President Donald Trump may launch a military attack on Iran.
Earlier on Tuesday, Reuters quoted a US official as saying that army forces shot down an Iranian drone that approached a US aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.
In a related context, the maritime security company Vanguard Tech reported that Iranian gunboats approached an oil tanker flying the American flag in the Strait of Hormuz at dawn on Tuesday, and ordered it to stop, in a new escalatory incident that comes in light of the increasing tensions in the region.
On the other hand, the Iranian “Fars” agency reported that a British maritime security company claimed that a “security incident” had occurred in the Strait of Hormuz, noting that the ship was besieged by combat boats after it ignored warnings to stop. However, the agency quoted competent Iranian authorities as saying that the ship entered Iranian territorial waters without legal permits, was warned and left immediately, stressing that “no security incident occurred,” and that the British claim was “incorrect.”
These developments come in light of the escalation of military tension between the United States and Iran, and ahead of talks expected next Friday in Istanbul, while a senior official in the Revolutionary Guards’ naval forces threatened last week to close the Strait of Hormuz if Iran was subjected to an American attack.
