Blinken Calls on World to Hold Iran Accountable for Tanker Attack

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the countries of the world to punish Iran for its alleged attack on an oil tanker operated by a company partially owned by Israeli shipping magnate Eyal Ofer, off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea.

Blinken, in an address to a virtual Security Council meeting on maritime security, urged the countries not to allow Iran to get off with “impunity” for the attack late last month on the MT Mercer Street ship. He called the explosives-laden drone bombing “part of a pattern of attacks and other provocative behavior.”

“It is on all of our nations to hold accountable those responsible. Failing to do so will only fuel their sense of impunity and embolden others inclined to disregard the maritime order,” Blinken also said.

Iran has denied that it was responsible for the attack, calling it an attempt start a “media war” just as Iran’s new president Ebrahim Raisi takes office.