On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken released a statement regarding an attack Thursday on a US ship in the north Arabian Sea.
The Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged commercial ship, was passing through international waters when it was attacked. Two crew members were killed, one was British and the other Romanian. US forces responded to the call.
Blinken stated “we are confident that Iran conducted this attack”. One-way explosive UAVs were used, a method that’s being used increasingly in the area.
There is no justification for this attack, which follows a pattern of attacks and other belligerent behavior.
Antony J. Blinken
The vessel is now under escort from aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) and guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG-35).
Back in early July, another merchant ship was allegedly attacked by an Iranian drone. The ship was owned by Zodiac, and Israeli business.
In the above tweet, Israel’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid stated, “I spoke tonight with the Secretary of State @SecBlinken On the attack on the ship in the Gulf of Oman. We are working together against Iranian terrorism, which poses a threat to all of us by formulating a real and effective international response. It was a weekend of extensive diplomatic activity. I spoke with my counterparts in the UK and Romania”.
Blinken added that the US government is working with others to decide what steps to take next and how to respond appropriately.
