The "resistance axis" of Tehran and its regional allies may have been behind an explosion that hit the Israeli-owned vessel four days ago, a Iranian newspaper said Sunday.
The MV Helios Ray, a vehicle carrier, was travelling to Singapore when the blast occurred on Thursday, according to the London-based Dryad Global maritime security group.
Citing unnamed "military experts," Kayhan, Iran's daily, wrote in a front-page report that "the targeted ship in the Gulf of Oman is a military ship belonging to the Israeli army."
"This spy ship, although it was sailing secretly, may have fallen into the ambush of one of the branches of the resistance axis," it added, without offering further details, AFP reported.
The term "resistance axis" usually refers to Iran and its allied forces in the region.
Israel's defense minister Benny Gantz said on Saturday that the Jewish state's "initial assessment" is that Iran is responsible for the explosion aboard the vessel.
"This... takes into account the proximity (with Iran) and the context" in which the blast occurred, he added.
Rami Ungar, an Israeli businessman who owns the Helios Ray, told Israeli state television Kan on Friday that the explosion caused "two holes about a metre and a half (five feet) in diameter".
It was "not yet clear" if the damage was caused by missiles or mines attached to the ship, Ungar added.
Israel has long accused Iran of trying to acquire nuclear weapons, a charge always denied by Tehran.
Also, Iran blames Israel for several attacks against it, including the November 27 assassination outside Tehran of its top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
