Iran According to Iran’s official news agency, on Saturday, major industrial nations accused Tehran of being behind the deadly attack on an oil tanker in the Arabian Sea last week.
The report quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzad as saying that Iran “strongly condemned” the statement made by the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven on Friday.The group is composed of representatives from the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States
Khatibzad said the statement made baseless accusations against Iran. He called the allegation a “scenario” made by Israel and stated that Israel has a long history of designing similar “conspiracies.”
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The Mercer Street ship is managed by an Israeli billionaire-owned company, and Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom have previously targeted Tehran.
The Group of Seven nations said on Friday that the July 29 attack in the international waters of the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman resulted in two deaths, which was “a clear violation of international law.” They added, “All the available evidence clearly points to Iran.”
“We condemn illegal attacks on merchant ships,” the foreign minister said in a joint statement. “This was a deliberate and targeted attack, which clearly violated international law.”
Khatibzad stated that Iran is committed to providing security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and that Iran is ready to cooperate with other countries to establish a collective security system while defending its sovereignty.
The G-7 countries stated in a statement that “Iran’s actions, together with its support for proxy forces and non-state armed actors, threaten international peace and security.”
“We call on Iran to stop all activities that are inconsistent with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and call on all parties to play a constructive role in promoting regional stability and peace,” they said.
The ministers called on ships in the area to “freely sail in accordance with international law.”
Iran has consistently refused to accept any responsibility for similar attacks in the region in the past.
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