Israel accuses Iran for attack on oil tanker

Israel has accused Iran behind an attack on an oil tanker in which two crew members – a British national and a Romanian citizen – were killed. The incident occurred on Thursday when MV Mercer Street, operated by the London-based company Zodiac Maritime, was off Oman’s coast in the Arabian Sea. The company, which belongs to Israeli shipping magnate, said it was working to establish what had happened. But Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Friday blamed the incident as “Iranian terrorism”. Yair Lapid said that it is not just the problem of Israel, and the world must not be silent.

However, details of the attack on the Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned tanker remain unclear. Iran has not yet commented on the allegations.  No one has yet claimed responsibility. In recent months, attacks on several ships with Israeli connections  have been blamed on Iran by the U.S. and Israel.Israel also has been accused of attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and military posts in Syria. Tensions between Israel and Iran have escalated recently as the U.S. has sought to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, a move that Israel opposes. The original deal forced Iran to significantly scale back its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other world powers.