America's Cold War with Iran Has Just Heated Up

CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and PA

-Mystery explosion hits Israeli cargo ship in the Gulf hours after US air strike on Iran-backed militia forces in Syria

-Israeli-owned cargo ship 'Helios Ray' was sailing in the Gulf of Oman on Friday

-It was hit by an unexplained blast, renewing concerns over tensions in the region

-The site of the blast saw a series of explosions in 2019 that the US blamed on Iran

-Tehran denied the accusations, which came after Trump abandoned Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran

-The explosion came after the US hit Iran-backed militia targets with an air strike

-President Biden's airstrike in Syria reportedly killed 22 Iran-backed fighters

A mystery explosion has struck an Israeli cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman hours after a US air strike hit Iran-backed militia forces in Syria.

The Israeli-owned cargo ship was sailing out of the Middle East on Friday when it was hit by an unexplained blast, renewing concerns about ship security amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran in the region.

The crew and vessel were safe, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by the British navy. The explosion forced the vessel to head to the nearest port.

The site of the blast, the Gulf of Oman, saw a series of explosions in 2019 that the U.S. Navy blamed on Iran against the backdrop of steeply rising threats between former President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders.

Tehran denied the accusations, which came after former US president Donald Trump abandoned Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on the country.

In recent weeks, as the administration of Joe Biden looks to re-engage with Iran, Tehran has escalated its breaches of the nuclear accord to create leverage over Washington.

The deal saw Tehran agree to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of crippling sanctions.

Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, identified the stricken vessel as the MV Helios Ray, a Bahaman-flagged roll-on, roll-off vehicle cargo ship.

Another private security official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, similarly identified the ship as the Helios Ray.

Satellite-tracking data from website MarineTraffic.com showed the Helios Ray had been nearly entering the Arabian Sea around 10am local time (0600 GMT) on Friday before it suddenly turned around and began heading back toward the Strait of Hormuz.

It still listed Singapore as its destination on its tracker, and by 4pm GMT was still shown as being in the Gulf of Oman, and had not reached a port.

It had been due to arrive in Singapore on March 5.