Tehran, Iran- On 2 June 2021, Iran’s Navy warship sinks after catching fire near the Strait of Hormuz. The reason Why the vessel caught fire is unknown. Some statements from an army official and Fars news agency tried to downplay the chances of foreign involvement in the whole scenario. However, an Official statement from Iranian personnel is still yet to be released. Therefore, many conspiracy theories are trending.
Iran’s largest warship vessel– The Kharg- is a training and logistics ship. British built this warship in 1977 and handed it over to Iran after negotiations in 1984. Kharg caught fire at 2:25 am according to the sources. About 400 troops were on board. Clouds of smoke were seen from a far distance due to the fire. Fars news agency is reporting that fire started in the engine. A few years ago, Iranian engineers did revampment of this warship as well.
Firefighters tried their best to save the vessel, but it sank near the Strait of Hormuz. This strait has huge strategic importance as one-fifth of the world oil trade passes through it. Luckily, no one died. Only 20 persons got minor burns. It is highly unlikely that any country attacked this ship. Therefore, a technical fault may seem to be the reason for the fire.
The US has accused Iran of attacking ships and cargoes in this region with limpet mines. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has said many times that the biggest foreign threat for Israel is Iran. Iran doesn’t recognize Israel after Iranian Revolution. So, there is a conspiracy theory floating that Israel is behind this. In April, Iran’s vessel Saviz was targeted in the Red Sea. The USA killed Iran’s military officer Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in 2020. Israel provided intelligence on this.
Iran is in hot waters with Israel and the West. The reasons for this are:
1) Iran’s nuclear program.
2) Iran’s stance on Israel.
3) Iran’s support of proxies in the middle east.
Israel, Arabs, and the West are trying hard to economically cripple Iran so that they can dictate their terms for the new nuclear deal. Joe Biden when came to power promised to reinstate Obama Nuclear deal with some changes and Iran’s full compliance with the new conditions. So, It will be too early to say where this issue will go.
It is a matter of grave importance for the middle east region as Iran’s navy warship sinks in the Gulf of Oman. The reason is likely to be technical. However, this is not the first incident of “mishap” by Iran’s navy. Earlier, a missile was shot by mistake ending up taking the lives of 19 sailors. No matter the reason for the fire, it is still a huge loss for Iran’s navy. As the USA and the rest of the world powers are tightening their grip on Iran, sinking the country’s largest warship will certainly increase more worries for Iran. How Iran will tackle these difficulties is a hard question that only Iran’s leadership can predict.
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