US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Dana Stroul confirmed - during testimony in the Senate - that Washington's assessment of the attack, which hit the Mercer Street tanker operated by an Israeli company late last month, states that it was carried out by Iranian-made drones launched from Yemen.

These statements came during the testimony of a number of officials from the Departments of State and Defense before the Senate regarding security assistance in the Middle East.

Stroul said that Russia and China are not urging Iran to take steps to achieve security in the region.

The US official stated that - during the entry into force of the nuclear agreement signed with Iran in 2015, and the previous US administration withdrew from it in 2018, the Middle East did not witness this number of attacks on US forces in Iraq.

Contact with Israel

Regarding cooperation with Israel, Stroul said that Washington is communicating with the Israelis about their security needs, including the development of the Iron Dome system.

For her part, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mira Resnick said in her testimony that the administration of President Joe Biden is helping Saudi Arabia to confront the threats of the Houthis and Iran.

These testimonies come after Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken, during a video conference session of the UN Security Council, renewed his accusation that Iran launched the "unjustified" attack on the Mercer Street, stressing that those responsible for the attack should be punished.

Iran has rejected Western accusations of being responsible for the attack that targeted the tanker off the coast of Oman on July 29, killing two people.


Last Saturday, the commander of the Iranian armed forces, Abolfazl Shakarji, said that there was no basis for US allegations about finding parts of an Iranian drone that targeted the Mercer Street tanker, and stressed that his country would announce any operation it would carry out and would not hide anything.

And the Central Command of the US forces said in a statement that experts concluded that the drone that targeted the Mercer Street tanker was Iranian-made.

It stated that the tanker was unsuccessfully attacked by two drones late last month, and that the damage to the ship was the result of a third drone that targeted it the next day, and it was loaded with military explosives.

The statement said that investigators found few remains of at least one march, and that the explosion caused by the impact of the march on the tanker caused a hole about 6 feet in diameter. The drone was sent with the aim of destroying and causing injuries, according to Al-Libyan.