Britain says “very likely” Iran Carried out an “illegal and relentless attack” on a ship in the Middle East, leaving behind British dead.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominic Rab Said the government believes that drones have attacked oil tankers close to the coast Oman It is “Iran deliberately, targeted and clearly violated international law.”
Strike pair Tanker Mercer Street on Thursday night This is the first known deadly attack after years of attacks on commercial shipping in the region, and relations with Iran are strained due to the breakdown of the nuclear agreement.
British maritime security company Ambrey said that the attack caused a hole in the bridge to blast and an employee on the ship was killed.
After the Israeli Prime Minister directly blamed the attack on Iran, Iran denied responsibility for it, but Mr. Raab said that the British government supported Naftali Bennett’s statement.
“Britain condemns the illegal and relentless attack on a merchant ship off the coast of Oman, which resulted in the deaths of a British and a Romanian national,” the Cabinet Secretary said.
“Our hearts are with the friends and family of the victims in the incident.
“We believe that this attack was deliberate and targeted by Iran and clearly violated international law.
“The British assessment concluded that Iran is likely to use one or more unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to attack MV Mercer Street in international waters near Oman on July 29.
“Iran must end such attacks and must allow ships to sail freely in accordance with international law.
“The UK is working with our international partners to jointly respond to this unacceptable attack.”
This year, at least three Israeli-related ships were attacked in the area, including MV Helios Ray, MV Hyperion Ray and CSAV Tyndall. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the drone attack occurred after a similar attack on three other Israeli-connected ships in the region since February.
At a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem earlier this week, Mr. Bennett blamed Iran for the drone attack.
“Intelligence evidence in this area exists, and we hope that the international community will show the Iranian regime that they have made a serious mistake,” the Israeli prime minister said in a speech delivered in his office at the weekly cabinet meeting.
“In any case, we know how to send information to Iran in our own way.”
Mercer Street is managed by London-based Zodiac Maritime, which is part of the Zodiac Group of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.
In response to Israel’s allegations, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzad said that the allegations of Iran’s attacks were “baseless”.
Zodiac Maritime said that at the time of the attack, the empty Mercer Street was heading from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
The target of the attack was an oil tanker located in the northeastern part of Oman’s Masira Island, 185 miles southeast of Oman’s capital Muscat.
The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in the Middle East said in a statement Saturday that the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the guided missile destroyer USS Mitchell are escorting Mercer Street to a safe port.
It said that naval bombing experts believed that the drone had attacked the ship.
An American official said that the drone attack blasted a hole in the top of the tanker bridge, where the captain and crew commanded the ship.
As the investigation into the attack is still ongoing, the official requested anonymity.
Zodiac Maritime said that the owner of Mercer Street is Japanese, but did not give his name.
The shipping authority Lloyd’s Register of Shipping identified the ultimate owner of the ship as Taihei Kaiun, which belongs to the Tokyo-based Nippon Yusen Group.
