Israeli PM says Iran behind deadly drone attack on oil tanker
Aug 01, 2021
Tel Aviv [Israel], August 1 (ANI/Xinhua): Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday that Iran was behind the deadly drone attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman last week.
"I declare unequivocally: Iran carried out the attack against the ship," Bennett said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting.
He added that Israel has intelligence evidence of Iran's involvement in the attack on the oil tanker Mercer Street.
Israel expects the international community to exert pressure on Iran that "made a serious mistake," the Israeli leader said.
No group or government has yet assumed responsibility for the attack.
In a press conference on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh dismissed the Israeli allegations that Iran carried out the attack as "baseless."
Zodiac Maritime, a London-based firm owned by the Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer, said in a statement on Friday that the attack on its oil tanker Mercer Street on July 29 killed two crew members, a Romanian national and a British national.
Iran and armed groups associated with it have been blamed by Israel for using drone attacks to target its ships in the Gulf in previous cases. The latest incident marked the first time that such an attack resulted in fatalities. (ANI/Xinhua)
