(Arutz Sheva) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday once again vowed to punish Iran for its recent attack on a tanker off the coast of Oman, saying the world cannot allow “impunity.”
Speaking to a virtual Security Council session on maritime security and quoted by AFP, Blinken said the explosions in late July on the Israeli-linked MT Mercer Street were “part of a pattern of attacks and other provocative behavior.”
“It is on all of our nations to hold accountable those responsible. Failing to do so will only fuel their sense of impunity and embolden others inclined to disregard the maritime order,” he said.
Two crew members, from Britain and Romania, died in the blasts which the US military said were caused by drones built by Iran.
On Friday, US Central Command said that a US Defense Department expert team has concluded that the drone behind the deadly attack on the Mercer Street commercial vessel was produced in Iran.
The release of the findings by the Pentagon followed a statement of condemnation from the G7 Foreign Ministers blaming Iran for the attack.
“All available evidence clearly points to Iran. There is no justification for this attack,” the joint statement Friday said.
A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry last week vehemently denied claims that his country was behind the attack on the Mercer Street – a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.
The spokesman called the accusations “baseless and provocative,” and warned that Iran would respond to any retaliatory action against it, “immediately and determinedly”.
