Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has announced that the US is preparing a collective response to Iran in close coordination with the UK, Israel and Romania to the attack on the Mercer Street tanker
“We are in very close contact with the UK, Israel, Romania and other countries. There will be a collective response”, – Blinken said.
The incident in question took place on the night of 29 to 30 July. A chemical tanker was attacked in the Arabian Sea, about 280km off the coast of Oman. The ship was sailing without cargo from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to the Arabian port of El Fujairah. British and Romanian nationals were killed in the attack.
Mercer Street is owned by a Japanese shipowner and flying the flag of Liberia. The ship’s operator Zodiac Maritime, owned by Israeli entrepreneur Eyal Ofer, initially reported that it could be a pirate attack, but the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organisation (UKMTO) classifies the incident as unrelated to piracy.
Following the incident, a number of Western countries, including the UK, accused Iran of involvement in the attack. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that London was working with international partners on a coordinated response to Tehran for the tanker attack.