Israel, UK blame Iran

Israel argued, Sunday 1er August, hold “Evidence” Iran’s involvement in a deadly attack on an oil tanker run by an Israeli billionaire in the Arabian Sea and threatened that country with reprisals, after Tehran denied any connection to the affair.

For his part, the British Foreign Minister, Dominic Raab, also considered that this attack had been “Led by Iran”. Judging this attack “Deliberate, targeted and illegal”, “The United Kingdom calls on Iran to immediately cease its actions endangering regional and international peace and security”, the minister said in a tweet. Accusations also formulated by the United States, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken having declared that Washington “Is consulting with governments in the region and beyond for an appropriate and imminent response.”

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A drone attack

Thursday, the tanker Mercer-Street, owned by businessman and billionaire Eyal Ofer, was the target of a drone attack in the Arabian Sea, according to the US military, with several ships in the region.

The attack, which has not been claimed, left two dead, a Briton employed by the security company Ambrey, and a crew member, Romanian, according to the shipowner Zodiac Maritime, an international company headquartered in London and owned by Eyal Ofer.

the Mercer-Street was sailing cargo free from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, when he was targeted, according to Zodiac Maritime, which operates the Japanese Liberian-flagged vessel.

Israel promptly accused the Islamic Republic of Iran, through its Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Friday, of being “An exporter of terrorism, destruction and instability that hurts everyone”.

The head of Israeli diplomacy, who spoke by telephone overnight Saturday to Sunday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, called for action against Iran at the UN.

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Iran strongly denies

Iran, Israel’s biggest rival, on Sunday denied any involvement in the affair: “The Zionist regime [Israël] must stop [lancer] such unfounded accusations “, said the spokesperson for his diplomacy Saïd Khatibzadeh at a press conference in Tehran. And to add: “Iran will not hesitate for a moment to defend its interests and its national security. “

In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who took over from Benjamin Netanyahu last month, responded curtly and directly to the Iranian denial. “I have just heard that Iran is cowardly trying to escape its responsibility in this affair, which it denies [toute implication]. So I can say with absolute certainty that Iran carried out this attack on the ship (…) There is evidence of this “, he said at a weekly meeting of his government.

“We expect the international community to make it clear to the Iranian regime that it made a serious mistake. Either way, we know how to send a message to Iran in our own way ”, added Bennett, without further clarification.

Freighters previously attacked

For years, Israel and Iran have clashed directly or indirectly in Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Gaza Strip. But in recent months, this rivalry has spilled over into the sea with the emergence of a mysterious series of sabotages and attacks.

On March 10, a cargo ship from the Iranian state-owned shipping company IRISL, the Shahr.e.Kord, was hit in the hull by an explosive device in the Mediterranean. Tehran then claimed that “Everything suggests that the occupation regime in Jerusalem [Israël, dans la phraséologie officielle iranienne] is behind this operation “.

In April, Iran announced that“A commercial vessel” Iranian Saviz, had been damaged in the Red Sea by an explosion of undetermined origin. the New York Times then reported that the Saviz had been targeted by an attack “Retaliation” Israeli after “Previous strikes by Iran against Israeli ships”.

For analysts, this showdown at sea is part of a larger rivalry over the Iranian nuclear issue, with Tehran trying to increase the pressure in order to obtain a new agreement favorable to it, while the Hebrew state seeks to prevent it.

The Iranian authorities have moreover accused Israel on several occasions of having sabotaged some of its uranium enrichment facilities, and even of having assassinated scientists who would be linked to the development of this program.

The World with AFP