Attack on Israeli oil tanker in Oman: Washington blames Iran

After a drone strike on July 29 against an oil tanker operated by an Israeli-owned company off the coast of Oman, tensions escalated between Iran, on the one hand, and USA, UK and Israel on the other hand. The three countries accuse Tehran – which denies – of being at the origin of this attack. In a press release, published on Sunday 1er August evening, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was convinced that Iran was indeed behind the strike, “Using one-way explosive drones”, “A lethal ability” that this country “Used more and more throughout the region”.

This explosion – which killed two crew members, a British and a Romanian – is the first known attack to have killed civilians in the long maritime shadow war waged by enemy Iran and Israel. regional rival of Tehran. The attack on the tanker Mercer-Street takes place at a key moment for Iran, a few days before the inauguration of ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raïssi, a follower of a hard line towards the West, unlike his predecessor, Hassan Rohani (2013-2021). Rising tensions may further complicate efforts to restore the 2015 Tehran nuclear deal, which negotiations in Vienna were suspended in June until the new Iranian head of state took office.

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British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also said on Sunday that, according to their investigations, the attack on the Mercer-Street, flying the Liberian flag, was ” very probably “ led by Iran, using“One or two drones”. He also called the strike a “Deliberate, targeted” and of “Flagrant violation of international law”, before promising a coordinated response with the allies in London.

Iran denies its involvement

The reaction of the US State Department was not slow either. Like his British counterpart, Antony Blinken promised a “Appropriate response” that would happen ” shortly “, after consultations with partners in Washington and governments in the region. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, meanwhile, issued a direct threat to Tehran at a cabinet meeting on Sunday: “We know, anyway, how to get the message across to Iran in our own way. “

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