Iran denies involvement in Indian Ocean tanker attack

Iran's foreign ministry today denied allegations made by Israel that it was behind the attack on an oil tanker in the northern Indian Ocean late last week that resulted in the death of two crew members.

"The illegitimate existence of the occupying regime in Jerusalem must stop making false accusations against Iran," foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said referring to Israel.

"This is not the first time the regime has made such allegations…As long as the Zionists and occupying regime in Jerusalem is trying to trap us, we should not fall into this trap," he added.

The attack on the Japanese-owned product tanker Mercer Street was described by its management company Zodiac Maritime as an "onboard piracy incident" which saw a Romanian national and UK national killed.

The tanker, which had no cargo on board, was heading from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to the UAE's main oil and products storage hub of Fujairah. It had departed Dar es Salaam on 20 July and was expected to arrive in Fujairah on 2 August, according to Vortexa.

The Mercer Street has not transmitted a transponder signal since the incident on 30 July. But Zodiac Maritime said late yesterday that the vessel was "sailing under the control of her crew and under her own power…to a safe location with a US naval escort."

Khatibzadeh's comments today came in response to accusations by Israel's foreign minister Yair Lapid on 30 July that "Iranian terrorism" was behind the attack.

"Iran is not just an Israeli problem," Lapid said. "The world must not be silent."

Last week's incident is just the latest in a string of similar incidents affecting tankers in the waters around the Mideast Gulf. This includes attacks by Yemen's Houthi forces on Saudi Arabian tankers, and incidents in the strait of Hormuz and the UAE in 2019 that the US also blamed on Iran.

By Nader Itayim