US Navy says drone strike hit oil tanker off Oman, killing 2

DUBAI – U.S. Navy explosive experts judge a “drone strike” targeted an lipid tanker that came nether onslaught disconnected the seashore of Oman successful the Arabian Sea, sidesplitting 2 connected board, the American subject said Saturday.

The onslaught Thursday nighttime connected the lipid tanker Mercer Street marks the first-known fatal onslaught aft years of assaults connected commercialized shipping successful the portion linked to tensions with Iran implicit its tattered atomic deal. While nary 1 has claimed work for the attack, Israeli officials alleged Tehran launched the drone strike.

While Iran did not straight admit the attack, the onslaught comes arsenic Tehran present appears poised to instrumentality an adjacent tougher attack with the West arsenic the state prepares to inaugurate a hard-line protégé of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arsenic president.

The American nuclear-powered craft bearer USS Ronald Reagan and the guided rocket destroyer USS Mitscher present escort the Mercer Street arsenic it heads to a harmless port, the U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet said successful a connection aboriginal Saturday.

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“U.S. Navy explosives experts are aboard to guarantee determination is nary further information to the crew, and are prepared to enactment an probe into the attack,” the 5th Fleet said. “Initial indications intelligibly constituent to a (drone)-style attack."

The 5th Fleet connection did not explicate however it determined a drone caused the damage, though it described its explosive experts uncovering “clear ocular grounds that an onslaught had occurred” aboard the Mercer Street. The U.S. military's Central Command did not instantly respond to a questions connected the evidence.

The Mercer Street is managed by London-based Zodiac Maritime, portion of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. The steadfast said the onslaught killed 2 unit members, 1 from the United Kingdom and the different from Romania. It did not sanction them, nor did it picture what happened successful the assault. It said it believed nary different unit members connected committee were harmed.

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The Mercer Street, bare of cargo, had been connected its mode from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, astatine the clip of the attack, Zodiac Maritime said.

Zodiac Maritime described the Mercer Street’s owners arsenic Japanese, without naming them. Shipping authorization Lloyd’s List identified the vessel’s eventual proprietor arsenic Taihei Kaiun Co., which belongs to the Tokyo-based Nippon Yusen Group.

Israeli officials, who spoke connected information of anonymity arsenic they weren’t authorized to speech to the media, blamed Tehran for the attack. They offered nary grounds to enactment their claim.

Other Israel-linked ships person been targeted successful caller months arsenic good amid a shadiness warfare betwixt the 2 nations, with Israeli officials blaming the Islamic Republic for the assaults.

Israel meantime has been suspected successful a bid of large attacks targeting Iran’s atomic program. Also, Iran saw its largest warship precocious descend nether mysterious circumstances successful the adjacent Gulf of Oman.

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Thursday’s onslaught comes amid heightened tensions implicit Iran’s tattered atomic woody and arsenic negotiations implicit restoring the accord person stalled successful Vienna. The bid of vessel attacks suspected to person been carried retired by Iran began a twelvemonth aft then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord successful 2018.

The onslaught connected the Mercer Street besides came the nighttime aft U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking from Kuwait, warned Iran that talks successful Vienna implicit the atomic woody “cannot spell connected indefinitely.”

This is the 2nd clip this period a vessel tied to Ofer seemingly has been targeted. In aboriginal July, the Liberian-flagged instrumentality vessel CSAV Tyndall, erstwhile tied to Zodiac Maritime, suffered an unexplained detonation connected committee portion successful the bluish Indian Ocean, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

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