China News Service, August 2nd, reported that the maritime situation in the Middle East was upset again.
Recently, an oil tanker managed by an Israeli company was attacked by drones in the waters off Oman, causing two deaths, causing many concerns.
Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States all believe that Iran is the "behind the scenes", and Iran firmly denies this, saying the allegations are baseless.
According to US media analysis, after the attack on the tanker, maritime tensions in the Middle East are escalating.
Data map: A ship caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Oman.
Tanker attacked late at night
The sea turmoil in the Middle East re-emerges
The British military maritime agency notified on the 30th that an oil tanker was attacked in the waters near Oman late at night on July 29.
According to reports, the tanker named "Mercer Street" was suspected of being attacked by one or more drones.
The shipping company operating the tanker subsequently issued a statement saying that the attack killed two crew members, including a British and a Romanian.
The ship’s management company stated that the ship was sailing from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Fujalia in the United Arab Emirates with no cargo on board.
According to Marine Traffic, a maritime tracking network, the ship sails under the Liberian flag.
The ship is Japanese-owned and owned and managed by the London-based international management company Zodiac Maritime, which is led by Israeli shipping giant Eyal Ofer.
The ship’s management company also confirmed that the tanker later relied on its own power and sailed to a safe location under the escort of the US Navy.
On February 25, an Israeli cargo ship also exploded in the Gulf of Oman. The hull was damaged, but there were no casualties.
The Israeli side believes that Iran is related to the explosion, but the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly opposes the allegation.
Anglo-U.S. accuses Iran of being "behind the scenes"
US media: Tensions are escalating
The tanker was managed by an Israeli company, and the attack caused the deaths of the British and Romanians. Therefore, after the incident, many countries paid close attention to it.
Israeli Prime Minister Bennett stated that Iran was the "man behind the attack" on the tanker.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, Israel’s Channel 13 military correspondent Or Heller described the attack on the tanker as a “terrorist act.” He said that the military intelligence community and the government had already held talks on how to respond to the attack.
US State Department spokesperson Price said that the country’s Secretary of State Brinken and Israeli Foreign Minister Rapide held talks. The two sides discussed the attack on the "Mercer Street" vessel and agreed to jointly investigate the incident with the United Kingdom and Romania. .
The British Foreign Secretary Raab also stated that the United Kingdom is negotiating with international partners to take coordinated measures to "retaliate against Iran for attacking the oil tanker "Meser Street"."
Raab said it was "illegal and cruel" to attack merchant ships on the high seas near the Gulf of Oman.
Britain believes that the attack was "performed by Iran."
However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Khatibzad denied on August 1 that Iran had attacked oil tankers managed by Israeli companies.
He stated that Israel must stop false allegations concerning Iran’s attack on oil tankers.
These allegations are baseless and should be condemned.
He also said that the relevant Israeli allegations are based on its ties with the United States. These allegations are intended to divert the attention of the people and that this interference method will not achieve its purpose.
According to US media analysis, after the attack on the tanker, maritime tensions in the Middle East are escalating.
According to a report on Peninsula Chinese, Lindsay Moran, a former official of the US Central Intelligence Agency, said that this was the first maritime attack that caused casualties since 2019; secondly, the time of the accident coincided with the deadlock in the Iranian nuclear agreement.
She said, “it seems we are entering a period of potential instability” and the situation between Iran and Israel will continue to escalate and have an impact on the region.