Britain says ‘highly likely’ Iran attacked Israeli tanker off Oman

Reuters | London

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Britain yesterday said it believed Iran carried out an attack on an Israeli-managed petroleum product tanker off the coast of Oman on July 29 that killed a Briton and a Romanian and said it was working with partners on a “concerted response”. “The UK condemns the unlawful and callous attack committed on a merchant's vessel off the coast of Oman, which killed a British and a Romanian National,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.

“We believe this attack was deliberate, targeted, and a clear violation of international law by Iran.” He said British assessments had concluded it was “highly likely” that Iran attacked the tanker using one or more drones. “The UK is working with our international partners on a concerted response to this unacceptable attack,” he said. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had accused Tehran of “trying to shirk responsibility” for Thursday’s incident and called its denial “cowardly”.

A Briton and a Romanian were killed when the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned ship managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime was attacked- apparently by a drone, a US defence official said, though conclusive evidence was still needed. 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 Centre as an accident that occurred outside Omani territorial waters. US 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.