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United Arab Emirates, Dubai-The United States and the United Kingdom joined Israel on Sunday, claiming that Iran had launched a deadly drone attack on an oil tanker off Oman in the Arabian Sea, denying involvement and putting further pressure on Teheran. By assault.
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab called this an “illegal and ruthless attack,” and his country and its allies are planning a coordinated response to a strike on oil tanker Mercer Street on Thursday night. Said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken immediately followed, “There is no justification for this attack to follow patterns of attack and other militant behavior.”
The strike on Mercer Street marked the first known deadly attack after years of attacks on commercial transport in the region related to tensions with Iran over its tattered nuclear deal.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iran and its militia allies have previously used so-called “suicide” drones in their attacks. This will hit the target and explode the explosive payload. However, Israel, Britain, and the corresponding US Navy have not provided physical evidence from the strike or provided information on why they blame Tehran.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett went further than Raab in a statement at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, staring directly at the camera and slowly warning. .. “
The drone attack pierced the top of the oil tanker bridge. The captain and crew are in command of the ship, US officials said. The investigation of the attack was still underway, so the official spoke on condition of anonymity. The explosion killed two crew members from England and Romania.
The Navy said USS Ronald Reagan, a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and USS Mitscher, a guided-missile destroyer, escorted Mercer Street on its way to a safe port. On Sunday, satellite tracking information from MarineTraffic.com showed that the tanker had stopped off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
Rab said in a statement that Iran was “very likely” to have attacked a tank truck with one or more drones.
“We believe this attack was intentional, targeted and a clear violation of international law by Iran,” he said. “Iran must end such an attack and vessels must be allowed to navigate freely in accordance with international law.”
Blinken also described the United States as “confidently” that Iran used multiple drones to carry out its attacks.
“These actions threaten the freedom of navigation through this important waterway, international shipping and commerce, and the lives of the people of the vessels involved,” he said in a statement.
Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh described the allegations that Iran carried out the attack as “unfounded.”
“It’s not the first time that the Zionist regime occupying Jerusalem has made such an empty accusation against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Katib Zade said.
“Anyone who blows the wind will reap the whirlwind,” he added.
Khatibzadeh spoke about an hour after Iran’s retiring president admitted that his government sometimes “did not tell some of the truth” during his term.
From Jerusalem, Bennett condolences to both Britain and Romania for the killings of civilians. He said Israeli intelligence had evidence linking Iran to the attack, but did not provide it.
“Iran is the one who carried out the attack on the ship,” he said. “Iran’s aggressive actions are not only dangerous to Israel, but also harm the world’s interests in freedom of navigation and international trade.”
Other Israeli-linked vessels have also been targeted in recent months during the shadow war between the two countries, with Israeli authorities blaming the Islamic Republic for attacks. Shipments in this region began to be targeted in the summer of 2019.
Meanwhile, Israel is suspected of launching a series of large-scale attacks on Iran and Iran’s shipping. Iran also recently saw the largest warship sank in the nearby Gulf of Oman under mysterious circumstances.
Taihei Kaiun Co from Japan. Owned by Mercer Street, it is managed by London-based Zodiac Maritime, which is part of the Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. In early July, a Liberia-flagged vessel, the CSAV Tyndall, once tied to Zodiac Maritime, was hit by an unexplained explosion while in the northern Indian Ocean, according to the US Maritime Bureau.
The attack marks Benjamin Netanyahu’s first major confrontation with Iran, who took office in June after the coalition agreement dismissed Israel’s long-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is suspected of launching a series of attacks targeting Iran, including an explosion in a major enrichment area in Iran and the killing of a prominent military nuclear scientist.
However, Bennett also made octopus-like comments in the past about the need to attack Tehran’s “octopus head” in contrast to Iran’s regional terrorist groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. The attack on Mercer Street is the first of his time to suggest that the prime minister and analysts may seek a large-scale attack in retaliation.
“Israel may want to do an overwhelming blow, which is the spirit of political commentary in Jerusalem,” wrote Amos Harrell, a longtime military analyst in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. .. “This blow is aimed at getting things done without the potential for escalation, but as always, the event also depends on the other side.”
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