COPENHAGEN, June 20 (Reuters) - Container shipping

company Maersk said on Friday it had temporarily

paused vessel calls at Israel's Haifa port, amid the country's

escalating conflict with Iran.

The Danish company said it had not experienced any further

disruptions to its scheduled operations in the region.

Haifa port, which was privatized in 2022, is owned 70% by

India's Adani Ports while the remaining 30% is held by

Israel's Gadot Group.

Adani Ports is the ports operating arm of Adani Group,

led by billionaire Gautam Adani. Including Haifa port, the

company operates four ports outside Indian waters.

A spokesperson for the Adani Group did not immediately

respond to Reuters' email and text messages requesting comment.

Israel has been hitting Iran from the air since last Friday

in what it describes as an effort to prevent Tehran from

developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop

such weapons and has retaliated by launching counterstrikes on

Israel.

On Thursday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had

launched combined missile and drone attacks at military and

industrial sites linked to Israel's defence industry in Haifa

and Tel Aviv.