Iranian drone hits chemical tanker in Indian Ocean, US says

An Iranian drone attacked a chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean, according to the U.S. Defense Department, in an attack that comes at a particularly dangerous time for international shipping. 

The Liberia-flagged chemical operator, Chem Pluto, which is Japanese-owned and Netherlands-operated, was hit "by a one-way attack drone fired from Iran" around 10 a.m. local time Saturday in the Indian Ocean about 230 miles off the coast of India, the U.S. official said, according to CNN. 

The attack did not result in any casualties and the fire on board the tanker was extinguished, the official also said, adding: "No US Navy vessels were in the vicinity."

The vessel had 20 Indian crew members and one Vietnamese member on board when the attack occurred, India's coast guard said. 

The attack Saturday is the seventh directly from Iran targeting commercial shipping since 2021. 

However, the incident comes amid rising tensions in global shipping. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been launching attacks in the Red Sea, causing companies, including oil giant BP, to pause shipments in the region. This has caused the White House to consider redesignating the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, as a terror group after the Biden administration delisted them as such in 2021.

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