The attack on a merchant ship caused a huge global sensation on December 23. The attack was linked to Israel and highlighted the spillover effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the attack was not on the Red Sea, but on the west coast of India, a full 3,000 kilometers from the Red Sea. According to India's Asia International News, on December 23, local time, an Israeli oil tanker sailing from Saudi Arabia to an Indian port was attacked by drones off the west coast of India, causing a fire. This is the first time since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that a ship has been attacked in a region far from the Red Sea. No group has yet acknowledged responsibility for the attack, and there has been no response from the Indian side.
The possibility of the Houthis has been preliminarily ruled out, since the attack site is 2,000 kilometers from the area under its control, and its drones have limited flight capabilities. The U.S. has alleged that Iran may be behind the attack, because it has the capability and motivation to carry out the attack. If it is really Iran's doing, this is clearly a deterrent to India. The Indian Navy recently announced that it would send two guided missile destroyers to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to escort ships, and India's support for Israel is also the loudest in the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Therefore, if the attack is indeed Iran's responsibility, it is intended to put pressure on India not to intervene too much in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, let alone participate in the US-Western escort alliance. However, I don't think it's very likely that Iran will commit the crime.
Because the attacked merchant ship was traveling from Saudi Arabia to India, loaded with oil from Saudi Arabia to India, and Iran does not need to offend Saudi Arabia and break its deal with Saudi Arabia, it is unlikely that Iran will risk such an attack. Therefore, I speculate that there are only two possibilities for this attack: it may have been the United States or Israel, or it could have been India's own. The United States and India may have intervened in this incident for different motives. The U.S. may be motivated to exacerbate shipping panic, push more countries and organizations into the coalition against Iran and the Houthis, and inflame relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. India, on the other hand, may have been the result of an accident, such as a misoperation while testing a drone, which caused it to accidentally hit an Israeli merchant ship.
However, the truth still needs to wait for the response of the parties concerned and the publication of the relevant investigation results.