Image source,Johan Victor via Reuters
The oil tanker “Moser Street” managed by an Israeli company was attacked off the coast of Amman, killing a British and a Romanian crew member.
An oil tanker managed by an Israeli company was attacked by a drone on the coast of Amman earlier, killing two people wearing it. The US military announced the results of the investigation and again accused Iran of launching an attack.
The U.S. Military Central Command pointed out that after investigation by explosives experts, they believed that the drone that launched the attack was made in Iran. The U.S. also gave relevant evidence to Britain and Israel for analysis, and experts from both countries reached the same conclusion.
The tanker named “Mercer Street” was attacked on July 29. Both the British and American governments believe that the tanker encountered a one-way explosive suicide drone frequently used by Iran and its allies. The attack was denied by Iran. The incident resulted in the death of the Romanian captain and the British security guard of the tanker.
The tanker is managed by a company based in London called Zodiac Maritimede, which is owned by Israeli shipping giant Eyal Ofer.
The US military report is expected to reveal more details about the attack.
Image source,EPA
The new Israeli Prime Minister Bennett said that he would send a message to Iran in his own way.
What did the report find?
After the attack, the USS Reagan, which is responsible for escorting the tanker in the Gulf, sent an explosives investigation team to examine the evidence left by the attacking drone.
The investigation team interviewed the surviving crew and inspected the wreckage of explosives, and finally determined that a total of three drones had attacked.
Image source,Reuters
The USS Reagan, which is responsible for escorting oil tankers in the Gulf, dispatched an explosives investigation team to examine the evidence left by the attacking drones.
The first two drones launched an attack on the evening of July 29, local time, but eventually missed the target. The third drone attacked the next morning. It was equipped with military explosives. It hit the cabin of the tanker and exploded, killing two people and exploding a hole about two meters in diameter.
The investigator pointed out that it was verified that the attacker used a kind of explosive called RDX (commonly known as RDX), which showed that the attacker planned to intentionally cause certain casualties.
Investigators also seized the wreckage of the drone’s wing, and the inspection determined that the drone was manufactured in Iran.
The Group of Seven (G7) issued a statement on Friday (August 6) criticizing Iran’s actions as a threat to peace and stability.
Image source,Reuters
The hard-line Brahim Leahy (the person who raises his hand in the picture) has just taken office as the Iranian president.
“Shadow War”
Although the Iranian government categorically denied any involvement in the tanker attack, security analysts generally believed that the attack was related to the prolonged “shadow war” between Iran and Israel.
The outside world believes that Israel has discovered a series of sabotage actions against Iran’s nuclear development plan, including assassination of Iranian scientists participating in the plan, and also launched attacks on cargo ships suspected of transporting oil for Lebanese Hezbollah armed groups. Hezbollah is accused of launching multiple rocket attacks on Israel in recent months.
Iran is accused of using limpet mines to launch attacks on civilian ships related to Israel. This kind of mine uses magnets to attach the mine to the cargo ship. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been training its members to use this kind of mine for many years. However, the latest attack caused the death of the crew, indicating that Iran has escalated its operations.
A few days after the attack on Mercer Street, some militants attempted to attack another freighter, the MV Asphalt Princess (MV Asphalt Princess), and once took control of the ship, but then released it.
The current situation in the Middle East is tense. These attacks occurred at a time when the hard-line Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took office, and negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue did not come to an end.