Pentagon says chemical tanker struck by Iranian drone in Indian Ocean

A chemical tanker operating in the Indian Ocean was struck by an Iranian drone attack on Saturday, a US Department of Defense official said, the seventh Iranian attack on commercial shipping since 2021.

“The motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker, was struck at approximately 10 a.m. local time (6 a.m. Greenwich Mean time) today in the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles from the coast of India, by a one-way attack drone fired from Iran,” the official said in a statement.

A one-way attack drone is designed to impact its target rather than return to its origin. “There were no casualties, and a fire on board the tanker has been extinguished,” the defense official said.

“No U.S. Navy vessels were in the vicinity,” the statement said, adding that Naval Forces Central Command was communicating with the struck vessel. The Indian Coast Guard posted on social media that there are 21 crew members on board and that “the vessel has started making its way towards Mumbai.”

Houthi rebels hijack cargo ship Red Sea Clean

US intelligence suggests Iran is involved in planning attacks on the Red Sea

The strike in the Indian Ocean comes as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched more than 100 attacks against about a dozen commercial and merchant ships transiting the Red Sea over the past four weeks, CNN previously reported.

The US Central Command reported more such incidents in a statement on social media on Saturday. A crude oil tanker was hit by “a one-way attack drone" on Saturday. There were no injuries, Central Command said. A separate chemical tanker operating in the southern Red Sea reported a “near miss” Saturday from a one-way drone, the command said.

Also, two “anti-ship ballistic missiles” were fired into the southern Red Sea from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen but did not hit any vessels, the statement said, and the USS Laboon, a Navy destroyer, shot down four aerial drones that were heading toward it.

While there have been recurring attacks originating from Yemen, Saturday’