Components of Iranian suicide drones were found aboard the Mercer Street tanker that was bombed off the coast of Oman, US Central Command (CENTCOM) revealed on Saturday, following an investigation.
Last week’s suicide drone attack on the Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned ship, managed by Israeli-owned company Zodiac Maritime, took the lives of its Romanian captain and a British security guard. Israel, the US, UK and Romania said within days that Iran was behind the attack.
CENTCOM’s report pointed to “the confluence of multiple components with very specific and matching identities to previously exploited (and known) Iranian one-way attack UAVS.
“The use of Iranian designed and produced one-way attack ‘kamikaze’ UAVs is a growing trend in the region. They are actively used by Iran and their proxies against coalition forces in the region, to include targets in Saudi Arabia and Iraq,” the report states.
CENTCOM provided photographs of Iranian drones, along with pieces of UAV debris found on the Mercer Street, such as a piece of the wing and internal components, that were nearly identical to the previously collected samples.
The report also showed photos of the significant damage incurred to the ship, including an approximately two-meter diameter hole at the top of the pilot house. Chemical tests found a nitrate-based explosive called RDX was used, which CENTCOM says shows the drone was “rigged to cause injury and destruction.”
The timeline of the attack, according to CENTCOM, began when two UAVs unsuccessfully attacked the vessel on July 29, which the crew reported. The crew also retrieved small remnants of the drones.
The following day, a third UAV, loaded with a military-grade explosive, struck the ship, killing the two crew members.
This evidence was shared with the UK and Israel, which agreed with the American findings.
CENTCOM released its report the day after the G7 condemned Iran and the UN Security Council held a discussion of the attack.
The Foreign Ministers of G7 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – as well as the High Representative of the European Union, which had previously excluded mention of Iran from its statement on the Mercer Street attack, said that “all available evidence clearly points to Iran.”
“Iran’s behavior, alongside its support to proxy forces and non-state armed actors, threatens international peace and security. We call on Iran to stop all activities inconsistent with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and call on all parties to play a constructive role in fostering regional stability and peace,” they stated.
As for the bombing of the vessel, the foreign ministers “condemn the unlawful attack… a deliberate and targeted attack, and a clear violation of international law…There is no justification for this attack.”
They said that ships must have freedom to navigate, according to international law, and that they will protect shipping, on which the global economy depends, so it can operate without being threatened with violence.
Britain raised the issue at a closed-door meeting of the UNSC on Friday. No action is expected to be taken by the 15-member body.
“Iran was responsible for this attack. We know it was deliberate and targeted. There is no justification for what happened – a state sanctioned attack on a civilian vessel, passing peacefully through international waters,” Britain’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward told reporters after the meeting.
Iran’s deputy UN Ambassador Zahra Ershadi rejected the accusations that Tehran was behind the attack and warned against any retaliation: “Iran will not hesitate to defend itself and secure its national interests.”
Israeli ambassador to the US and UN Gilad Erdan said Iran “tried to deflect attention from the undeniable truth: Iran is responsible for last week’s attack on the Mercer Street civilian vessel.”
Erdan said the G7 statement is an indication that the international community does not believe the Islamic Republic’s lies and understands that it threatens global security.
“Iran’s terrorist proxies cause instability and destruction throughout the region, as we witnessed this morning with Hezbollah’s rocket launches at northern Israel,” Erdan said. “The Security Council must hold Iran accountable, condemn its activities, and use all means at its disposal to stop Iran’s malign activities.”
Israel sent the UNSC a letter about the Mercer Street attack ahead of the meeting, as did the UK, Liberia and Japan, in a separate message.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz also met with the ambassadors of UNSC member states to Israel last week, to brief them on the intelligence showing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps was to blame for the attack.
Shira Silkoff and Reuters contributed to this report.