The Israeli-owned container ship LORI was hit by a missile early March 25 in the Arabian Sea. The missile was reported to have been small and to have apparently caused little damage to the body of the vessel, with no injuries registered. Blame was immediately cast on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Liberian-flagged ship had departed Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on March 21, heading for the port of Mundra on India’s west coast, when it was struck by the missile. The vessel's owners — XT Management — decided that the LORI would stay on course, with a more extensive inspection of the damage to take place upon arrival in India.

This was the second time an Israeli-owned ship was targeted in that area in the space of a month. On Feb. 26, the Israeli-owned MV Helios Ray car carrier suffered a blast while sailing in the Gulf of Oman, forcing it to change course and head for the nearest shipyard for inspection.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of attacking the ship, but Tehran had denied any connection to the incident. At the time, Israeli security experts disagreed on whether the country should retaliate against Iran. This disagreement might be the reason why most senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, kept mum on the March 25 incident.