Iran Still Denies Attack on Oil Tanker as US Produces Evidence
Iran’s government continues to deny that it was behind an 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.
The captain of the MT Mercer Street was killed as was a British crew member in the July 29 attack with an explosives-laden drone.
The Iranian denial of responsibility came in response to evidence produced on Saturday by the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in the Middle East, that ties Iran to the attack, including photographs of debris found on and close to the damaged tanker that is “identical to previously identified Iranian unmanned one-way attack systems,” according to the CENTCOM report.
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The US and UK have blamed Iran for the attack. On Friday, the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries jointly condemned Iran for the attack on the tanker.
“This was a deliberate and targeted attack, and a clear violation of international law,” the G-7 said in a statement. “All available evidence clearly points to Iran. There is no justification for this attack.”
Iran said that if it wanted to strike its enemies, its would do so openly.
“Iran would attack explicitly if it wanted to, like what it did in Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq,” said Brig. Gen. Abol-Fazl Shekarchi, spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces, according to IRNA.
He said the incident is being used to start a “media war” just as Iran’s new president Ebrahim Raisi takes office.
