Venezuela, Israel agree to renew consular ties for 1st time in 17 yrs

Israel and Venezuela have agreed to renew consular ties for the first time in 17 years despite the absence of diplomatic relations, Israel's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The agreement followed talks between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia, the ministry added.

Under the agreement, the two countries will establish a coordination mechanism to provide consular services to their citizens residing in the other country.

Relations between Israel and Venezuela, which severed diplomatic relations in 2009, began to thaw after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January and removed him from the country.

At least seven vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, according to the latest tracking data from the maritime information platform MarineTraffic cited by CNN, while separate incidents of violence were reported in surrounding Middle East waters the same day.

Also, on Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said that U.S. forces in the Gulf of Oman disabled the steering capability of a Panama-flagged cargo vessel sailing toward Iran. CENTCOM said the ship has violated the U.S. blockade against Iran and that a U.S. navy helicopter fired two missiles at the vessel. The command said the ship has stopped sailing toward Iran and reiterated that U.S. forces are continuing to enforce a blockade on Iran.

In a separate alert, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on Tuesday reported an incident involving a container ship in the Gulf of Oman. UKMTO said the vessel came under attack, with the crew issuing an emergency call for assistance and preparing to abandon ship. A message broadcast over a public maritime radio channel said there were 17 people on board and placed the incident near the eastern edge of the Gulf of Oman.

On the same day, UKMTO also issued another incident report, saying a cargo ship in the southern Red Sea was hit by an unknown projectile, resulting in casualties.

Yemen's Houthis said Tuesday that it attacked a Saudi military equipment transport ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Yemen's coast guard, however, said the target was a commercial ship and that the attack killed six people and injured 10.