U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Brinken said on Sunday that after reviewing existing information, the U.S. believes that Iran has attacked the merchant ship Mercer Street in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman. Israel and the U.K. support this statement. Iran denies this.
Brinken said in a statement that the attack resulted in the death of two civilians and was launched by Iran’s increasingly frequent use of drones. The attack “reflects Iran’s aggressive behavior threatening international shipping and trade”.
Brinken added in a statement that there is no reason for the attack. The United States is discussing next steps with partners and is negotiating with governments in the region and other regions “to seek an appropriate and urgent response.”
In contrast, the United Kingdom stated on Sunday that it believed Iran had attacked an Israeli-operated oil-derivatives tanker off the coast of Oman on July 29. A British and a Romanian were involved in the accident. Died, adding that this was a “coordinated response” with partners.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “The UK condemned the illegal and barbaric attack on a merchant ship off the coast of Oman. This attack resulted in the deaths of a British and a Romanian.”
He added: “We believe that the attack was premeditated and targeted, and Iran clearly violated international law.”
He said that the conclusion of the British assessment showed that Iran was “very likely” to use one or more drones to attack the tanker.
He added that “the UK is working with international partners to make a coordinated response to this unacceptable attack” and said Iran should stop such attacks and allow ships to sail freely in accordance with international law.
Iran denies
However, Iran has denied involvement in the attack on tankers owned by Israeli companies off the coast of Oman.
At a press conference on Sunday, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Said Khatibzad stated that the allegations of Iran’s attack on the Israeli ship “Mercer Street” were “low-level and baseless”.
An Iranian spokesperson said that this is not the first time Israel has filed charges against Iran, and that Israel’s presence in any region will lead to security instability, terrorism and violence. Khatibzad added, “Such allegations are aimed at diverting attention from the facts and are groundless.”
He said: “These blame games are not new. The person responsible for this (attack) is the person who allowed the Israeli regime to set foot in the area.”
The attack killed two crew members (British and Romanian) on a ship operated by the Israeli Zodiac Maritime, which was flying the Liberian flag. The shipowner said that this appeared to be a piracy issue; a source at the Oman Maritime Security Center stated that the attack occurred outside Oman’s territorial waters.
Israel insists
On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, at the beginning of the weekly government meeting on Sunday, accused Iran of attacking the oil-derivatives tanker, and added that he wanted the international community to “explain to the Iranian regime. The extent of the serious mistakes it committed”. Bennett emphasized that Israel will explain to Iran the seriousness of the attack on the tanker in its own way.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Yail Rapide stated that the incident should receive a severe response and added in Twitter: “Iran is not only a problem for Israel, but also a source of terrorism, destruction and instability that endangers everyone. . There should be no silence about the Iranian terrorists who undermine the freedom of navigation.”
(Al Jazeera)U.S. participation in the investigation
The US State Department said on Saturday that the United States agreed to participate in the investigation of the tanker attack. Ministry spokesperson Ned Price explained that the U.S. Secretary of State had a phone call with the Israeli Foreign Minister and they agreed to “work with the United Kingdom and Romania and other international partners to investigate the truth, provide support, and study the measures that should be taken in the next phase.”
The U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet has stated that its explosives experts have preliminarily concluded that the attack on the “Mercer Street” tanker owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer was carried out by drones, which was sailing from Tanzania at the time. On the way to the UAE.
Reuters reported that US and European sources familiar with the intelligence report said Iran was the main suspect in the incident, but an official from the US Department of Defense emphasized that the United States is looking for conclusive evidence.
The attack is still in doubt, but Dryad Global, a London-based maritime security company, called it “new retaliation in a secret war between two rival countries,” referring to Iran and Israel.
The tanker attack took place in the Arabian Sea. It is located at the exit of the Strategic Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman. Most of the world‘s oil passes through the strait, and the US-led alliance also operates there.
In recent months, Iran and Israel have accused each other of being tanker attackers. Since the former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement signed by Iran and major powers in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, tensions in the Gulf region The situation has intensified.
.