JERUSALEM, Israel – The US, Britain and Israel are all blaming Iran for a deadly attack on an Israeli-managed ship off the coast of Oman.
Israel says an Iranian suicide drone hit the Mercer Street ship on Friday, killing the captain, a British national. A Romanian citizen also died in the attack. An Israeli-owned company manages the vessel and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett sent Iran a clear warning.
“I state here absolutely: Iran is the one that carried out the attack against the ship. Iran's aggressive behavior is dangerous not only for Israel, but also harms international interests, the freedom of navigation, and the international trade. The intelligence evidence for this exists and we expect the international system to make it clear to the Iranian regime that they have made a grave mistake. In any case, we know how to convey the message to Iran in our own way."
Us Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement blaming Iran for the attack stating, “We are working with our partners to consider our next steps and consulting with governments inside the region and beyond on an appropriate response, which will be forthcoming.”
Israel, the US and UK have yet to show physical evidence from the strike or provide intelligence information on why they believe Iran is responsible.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh called their claims “baseless” and denied responsibility.
Friday’s attack is the latest in a series of alleged strikes at sea between Iran and Israel. Iran and its militias have used so-called suicide drones in previous attacks. The drones crash into targets and then detonate themselves.
In the meantime, Ebrahim Raisi will be sworn in as Iran’s new president on Thursday. Bennett has called Raisi “the Hangman of Tehran” for his involvement in the deaths of thousands of Iranians.
It remains to be seen what impact he will have on negotiations over the renewal of the Iranian nuclear deal. Talks have been suspended for the past six weeks.
Blinken says the delay can’t go on forever.
“The ball remains in Iran’s court. And we will see if they are prepared to make the decisions necessary to come back into compliance,” he said. “We are committed to diplomacy, but this process cannot go on indefinitely.”