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Iran and Israel have traded accusations of attacking one another’s vessels in current months.
Dubai:
The US Navy is aiding an Israeli-managed petroleum merchandise tanker attacked off Oman with two crew members killed, the US navy mentioned on Saturday, including the ship was most probably hit by a drone strike.
Mercer Road, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned vessel that was attacked on Thursday, is being escorted by the plane service USS Ronald Reagan, U.S. Central Command mentioned in a press release.
“U.S. Navy explosives specialists are aboard to make sure there isn’t a further hazard to the crew, and are ready to assist an investigation into the assault,” mentioned Central Command, which oversees American navy operations within the Center East and Central Asia.
“Preliminary indications clearly level to a UAV-style (drone) assault,” it added.
Israeli Overseas Minister Yair Lapid blamed Iran on Friday for the assault, which killed a Briton and a Romanian, and mentioned it deserved a harsh response. There was no fast official response from Iran to the accusation that it was accountable.
Lapid spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in regards to the incident on Saturday night, he mentioned on Twitter.
“We’re working collectively towards Iranian terrorism, which poses a risk to all of us, by formulating an actual and efficient worldwide response,” Lapid mentioned.
Lapid added on Twitter: Iran “repeatedly errs in understanding our dedication to defending ourselves and our pursuits.”
U.S. and European sources conversant in intelligence reporting mentioned on Friday that Iran was their main suspect for the incident.
Al Alam TV, the Iranian authorities’s Arabic-language tv community, cited unnamed sources as saying the assault on the ship got here in response to a suspected, unspecified Israeli assault on Dabaa airport in Syria.
The vessel is managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime. The corporate mentioned on Friday the vessel was crusing underneath the management of its crew and personal energy to a protected location with a U.S. naval escort.
Iran and Israel have traded accusations of attacking one another’s vessels in current months.
Tensions have risen within the Gulf area since the US reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 after then-President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear take care of main powers.
The UK Maritime Commerce Operations (UKMTO), which supplies maritime safety data, mentioned the vessel was about 152 nautical miles (280 km) northeast of the Omani port of Duqm when it was attacked.
In line with Refinitiv ship monitoring, the medium-size tanker was headed for Fujairah within the United Arab Emirates, from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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