Cyprus Mail
BritainWorld

Britain believes Iran attacked Israeli-managed tanker off Oman

the mercer street, a japanese owned liberian flagged tanker managed by israeli owned zodiac maritime that was attacked off oman coast as seen in cape town
The Mercer Street

Britain said on Sunday it believed Iran carried out an attack on an Israeli-managed petroleum product tanker off the coast of Oman on Thursday that killed a Briton and a Romanian, and said it was working with partners on a “concerted response”.

Iran earlier on Sunday denied it was involved in the incident, after it was blamed by Israel.

UK assessments had concluded that it was highly likely that Iran had used one or more drones to carry out the “unlawful and callous” attack, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.

“We believe this attack was deliberate, targeted, and a clear violation of international law by Iran,” he said on Sunday. “The UK is working with our international partners on a concerted response to this unacceptable attack.”

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had accused Tehran of “trying to shirk responsibility” for the attack, and called its denial “cowardly”.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a weekly news conference on Sunday that the “Zionist regime (Israel) has created insecurity, terror and violence…These accusations about Iran’s involvement are condemned by Tehran”.

“Such accusations are meant by Israel to divert attention from facts and are baseless,” Khatibzadeh said.

The Briton and Romanian were killed in the incident involving the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned ship managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.

The U.S. Navy, which was escorting the tanker with its aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, said on Saturday that early indications “clearly pointed” to a drone attack.

Speaking during a weekly meeting of his cabinet on Sunday, Bennett said: “I declare unequivocally: Iran is the one that carried out the attack on the ship,” adding that intelligence supports his claim.

“We, in any case, have our own way to relay the message to Iran,” Bennett said. Israel’s foreign minister said earlier the incident deserved a harsh response.

There were varying explanations for what happened to the tanker. Zodiac Maritime described the incident as “suspected piracy” and a source at the Oman Maritime Security Center said it was an accident that occurred outside Omani territorial waters.

U.S. and European sources familiar with intelligence reporting said Iran was their leading suspect for the incident.

Iran and Israel have traded accusations of carrying out attacks on each other’s vessels in recent months.

Tensions have risen in the Gulf region since the United States reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 after then-President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.

Follow the Cyprus Mail on Google News

Related Posts

Europe to use frozen Russian profits to arm Ukraine, Scholz says

Reuters News Service

Russia votes in election that will give Putin six more years in power

Reuters News Service

Putin says Ukraine will be punished for election day attacks on civilians

Reuters News Service

Israel says troops did not open fire on Gazans waiting for aid

Reuters News Service

UK children exposed to violent content online, see it as ‘inevitable’

Reuters News Service

Hezbollah tells Iran it would fight alone in any war with Israel

Reuters News Service