Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Iran, August 7, 2021—An investigation by the U.S. Department of Defense into a drone attack against an oil tanker off the coast of Oman points the finger at the Iranian regime.
According to statement by the U.S. Central Command, “The M/T Mercer Street was targeted by two unsuccessful explosive UAV attacks on the evening of July 29” and the ship was again attacked on July 30, this time by another UAV “loaded with a military-grade explosive.” The attack resulted in the death of a Romanian citizen and a UK national.
CENTCOM provided details of the explosives, the unmanned aircrafts, and the damage dealt to the ship and concluded: “U.S. experts concluded based on the evidence that this UAV was produced in Iran.”
On August 3, shortly after the drone attack on MT Mercer Street, the British navy warned of a potential hijack of the Asphalt Princess, a Panama-flagged ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman. Again, all signs indicated the Iranian regime was involved in the incident. Oman's Maritime Security Centre confirmed the incident and told the Reuters news agency that suspected Iranian-backed forces were involved.
Tehran’s continued provocative measures in the region have raised concern across the globe.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said, “We have seen a very disturbing pattern of belligerence from Iran, including belligerence in the maritime domain.”
On Friday, the foreign ministers of G7 issued a statement regarding the Mercer Street attack, in which they stipulated, “All available evidence clearly points to Iran. There is no justification for this attack.”
The Iranian regime’s continued disregard for international norms and its constant undermining of regional and global security surely demands a strong response by the international community. But despite the talk by politicians to take a harder stance against the regime’s belligerence, western states continue to give the regime a free pass for its crimes.
On August 5, less than a week after Iran’s regime killed two European citizens in international waters, Enrique Mora, the representative of the European Union, attended the inauguration ceremony of Ebrahim Raisi, the criminal president of the Iranian regime.
Raisi is the epitome of the regime’s criminal history. He played a key role in the murder of more than 30,000 political prisoners in 1988. He has been sanctioned for his continued human rights abuses and human rights organizations have called for his prosecution in an international tribunal.
Such moves send the wrong message to a regime that has made violence and terrorism a key tenet of its domestic and foreign policy. By legitimizing the criminal president of the mullahs’ regime western politicians tacitly that Tehran can continue to wreak havoc inside Iran and across the globe.
Following the attack on Mercer Street, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged a “collective response.”
And in their statement, the G7 foreign ministers also raised concern about the hijacking of Asphalt Princess. “Vessels must be allowed to navigate freely in accordance with international law. We will continue to do our utmost to protect all shipping, upon which the global economy depends, so that it is able to operate freely and without being threatened by irresponsible and violent acts,” they wrote.
The first step to respond to the regime’s continued crimes is to recognize it for what it is, a gang of criminals and terrorist that have taken Iran and the region hostage to their lust for power. Only a firm policy that delegitimizes the regime and acknowledges the people of Iran as the real allies of the international community will help establish peace and security in the short and long term.
