The United States and Britain said Sunday they believed Iran carried out an attack on an Israeli-run oil tanker off the coast of Oman on Thursday that killed a Briton and a Romanian, and both pledged to work with partners to respond.
On Sunday, Iran denied involvement in the incident, after Israel blamed it.
“After reviewing available information, we are confident that Iran carried out this attack, in which two innocent people were killed, using unmanned aerial vehicles with single-use explosives,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, adding that there was “no justification” for the attack.
“We are working with our partners to consider our next steps and consulting with governments inside and outside the region on an appropriate response, which will be forthcoming,” Blinken said.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said earlier in the day that UK assessments had concluded it was highly likely that Iran had used one or more drones to carry out the “illegal and insensitive” attack.
“We believe this attack was deliberate, targeted and a clear violation of international law by Iran,” he said. The UK was working with its international partners on a “concerted response,” he added.
The incident involved the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned ship operated by the Israeli company Zodiac Maritime.
The U.S. Navy, which escorted the tanker with the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, said Saturday that early indications “clearly pointed” to a drone attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had accused Tehran of “trying to evade responsibility” for the attack and called its denial “cowardly.”
Speaking during a weekly meeting of his cabinet on Sunday, Bennett said, “I state unequivocally: Iran is the one that carried out the attack on the ship,” adding that intelligence services backed up his claim.
“We, in any case, have our own way of conveying the message to Iran,” Bennett said. Israel’s foreign minister earlier said the incident deserved a tough response.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a weekly news conference on Sunday that the “Zionist regime (Israel) has created insecurity, terror and violence…. These accusations about Iran’s involvement are condemned by Tehran.”
“Such accusations are intended by Israel to divert attention from the facts and are baseless,” Khatibzadeh said.
There have been various explanations for what happened to the tanker. Zodiac Maritime described the incident as a “suspected piracy,” and a source at Oman’s Maritime Security Center said it was an accident outside Omani territorial waters.
In recent months, Iran and Israel have accused each other of carrying out attacks against their vessels.
Tensions have risen in the Gulf region since the United States reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 after then-President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.
