An Iranian ship used by the Islamic Republic Guard Corps (IRGC) has been damaged by an explosion in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen.
The Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, reported that the ship was damaged after a mine planted on it exploded.
The report said the ship has been stationed in the Red Sea for the past several years "to support Iranian commandos sent on [anti-piracy] merchant ship escort missions".
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman called the incident an "attack".
Earlier, Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya quoted unidentified sources as saying the ship was attacked off the coast of Eritrea and was linked to the IRGC.
The New York Times cited social media accounts linked to the IRGC that claimed Israel carried out the attack. Israel has not confirmed that information, the newspaper reported.
But according to an unnamed US official, Israel had informed the United States of its role after the attack, the New York Times reported.
The incident comes amid years of naval clashes between Iranian, Israeli and Western forces.
But the incident also came as tense international talks began in Vienna aimed at reviving Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, from which Washington withdrew three years ago.
Former US President Donald Trump had said that the withdrawal happened because the deal was bad and that it allowed Iran to have a nuclear deal.
The US imposed devastating sanctions on Iran as Tehran began violating the nuclear deal.
US President Joe Biden took office in January and has expressed commitment to reviving the deal, only if Tehran returns to full compliance with the agreement.
Israel has been a fierce critic of the nuclear deal, which sought to ease economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for scaling back Tehran's controversial nuclear program.
"We must not return to the dangerous nuclear agreement with Iran, because a nuclear Iran is an existential threat to the state of Israel and a major threat to the security of the entire world," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu./REL